Red and Black
by Dancing star 890
Summary: Wolves ravaged her home, her parents, her life, and it didn't stop her from wanting to help others -if anything, it made her want to even more. When Lysandra finds a man, more handsome than she had ever laid eyes on, with pale blonde hair and devilish red eyes, ravaged by those same wolves, little does she know that a mere act of kindness will change her future forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Greece, 1230BC**

Sweet birdsong sounded through the air as Lysandra skipped through the undergrowth and brush, her brother, Arcadius following behind, a handcrafted spear in his hand as he jogged behind her, his slow running placing him almost directly behind her, his dark blue eyes watching the surrounding area for an unsuspecting animal that would become their dinner for the next few nights.

Lysandra gave a sweet, gentle laugh as she spun around, running backwards as she looked at her older brother by seven years, her guardian since she was just eight, a mere four years ago. They'd been fifteen and eight, respectively, when the wolves that howled only during the full moon came and ravaged their village, Her mother, her father, her five older brothers and one sister, as well as her sweet baby brother and sister, the twins, hadn't been so fortunate to survive the night of horrors, and no amount of praying to the great Gods atop Olympus could remove those horrific memories from her innocently young mind.

Blue eyes fixed her with a stern look. "Eyes front, Lysandra," he ordered firmly, the twelve year old doing so immediately without an argument. It might have been her names day, but that didn't mean she still mightn't end up on the receiving end of a harsh scolding, something that was never fun. Had her father still of been here, she would of been shown around the village and told that within two years, she'd be having a family of her own.

But Arcadius would never do that to her. Although it was tradition, she knew he always frowned upon the marriages of children to grown men. It hadn't been something she had wanted either, but she didn't have rights, at least then, but now, with Arcadius as her guardian and her father of all intents and purposes, she did to an extent.

A snarling, snorting noise from the bush closest to them drew their attention, and as quick as lightening, Arcadius threw his spear. It sailed through the air and landed with a wet sounding thud, a fat boar falling out of the underbrush, the spear clean through its body, dripping red. The animal gave a final snarling, stuttering noise before it too fell silent, rolling onto its side limply, giving one jerking shudder before it became deathly still.

A triumphant smile drew at the lips of the older boy as he strode forward, pulling his knife from its sheath so he could cut the pieces of meat off they needed and let the wilderness have the pieces they couldn't. He gestured towards his younger sibling. "Lysandra, the basket." He called, the dark blonde haired twelve year old with equally blue eyes ran forward, the tightly woven basket of reeds and sticks being placed beside him so he could place the meat in there as he went along. A linen cloth lined the bottom of the basket as to prevent any blood dripping out when he laid the meat there.

Lysandra grimaced at the sound of tearing wet flesh. It had never been her favourite thing to do in the world, hunting that was, but if it meant survival, she could do it, no questions asked, but her skinning of an animal was sloppy and inexperienced, whereas Arcadius could expertly cut away the edible meat without wasting anything. She was the opposite, having only been asked to hunt a handful of occasions when he was too ill to stand, let alone track down a meal for them both. She tended to favour the edible nuts and berries that lurked around the cave they called home, something he detested, but ate, for her sake and her sake alone.

The coppery smell of blood permeated the air, and although he didn't hear it, she did -the sound of a soft snarl drew her attention over towards a small cliff face, merely about five metres high. It sounded like another animal, but it wasn't one she'd ever heard before. The sound was, _human_ , almost, but tainted with something else. It sounded foreign.

Curiosity getting the better of her, and with Arcadius still slicing away at their dinner for the next few nights, _at least_ , she silently walked away, venturing further towards the sound. It sounded as though it were coming directly from the bottom of the ledge, on the ground underneath it, and she walked over slowly, her heart pounding as the noise got closer and closer, suddenly stopping.

Dark blue eyes peered over the edge of cliff hesitantly, widening when they laid upon a man down there. He was godly beautiful; golden hair fell down to his shoulders, pale skin glittering from the overhead sun that beamed down relentlessly upon them. He wore the clothes of a wealthy man, but they were tattered, a thick black sludge covering his torn white skin through the tears in his garments, but no blood stained them.

Puzzled, she furrowed her brows. Could he be dead? Could he be a God, sent down from Olympus as a test to man? She made her way carefully down the rockface, crouching beside the abnormally still man. He was unearthly beautiful, his eyes closed, not even moving beneath their lids like Arcadius's did when he slept, when he dreamt. She couldn't even see his chest rising.

She placed her hand on his chest, pulling it back when the thick black sludge covered her fingers. She inhaled sharply as she realised with a growing dread what it was. She recognised it instantly now up close to it. The same grimy substance had covered the bodies of the deceased villagers, her parents and siblings included, when the wolves had torn into their soft flesh. It came from their bite and their claws. She inhaled sharply again. What were the wolves doing this far from where they usually were again? Horror lanced straight through her chest as her fear spiked dramatically, her heart rate tripling in a instant.

"Lysandra!"

Blue eyes shot heavenwards just as Arcadius came into view, blood painting his shirt as he clutched the woven basket, his blade sheathed once more. He stared down at her. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

Desperation to save this strange godly man kicked in. "He was attacked by the wolf men!" She cried upwards and he cursed a forbidden word that would certainly get him sent to Hades and the Underworld. He clambered down. "Get away from him!" He demanded. She shook her head adamantly, black staining her fingers. "No! He can be saved! We must save him before they return to finish him off tonight! We both know they will. I cannot live knowing I could have prevented a death and did nothing to stop it!" She cried out.

He opened his mouth to answer but closed it as the man gave a wheezing sound, eyes opening and staring up at nothing, the faintest tinge of red making the older sibling freeze. "He's one of the immortal creatures they hunt, Lysandra," he commented rigidly, his whole body stiffening as the man slumped once more, giving the occasional jerk as the offending venom ran through his system. Lysandra looked to him, furrowing her brows. Arcadius shook his head. "We take him, they'll kill us on the spot, not turn us into one of them for punishment, just outright kill us for conspiring to help their sworn enemy. We must go. Now." He stated, striding forward to snatch her away.

Lysandra jerked backwards away from his reach. "And I still cannot live with knowing I could have saved him but instead doomed him to a fate worse than death! Let me help him, let me heal him! I have some salve and ointment that can draw the venom out in time before it kills him in my trunk, and I have fresh bandages to cover his wounds to make sure no venom re-enters his wounds and kills him! I would rather die knowing I did everything I could to help save someone desperately in need than die like a coward who took the easy way out. If they're venturing this far north, then they will find us eventually!" She reasoned.

Arcadius was quiet for a moment before he thrusted the basket of meat towards her. "I'll take him, you take this. If he kills us both through his maddening hunger, then its on you." He stated harshly, pushing the basket into her arms before he effortlessly picked up the unconscious man, his bulging muscles helping keep the man of average weight and height in his arms.

Her blue eyes shone with admiration before she began to search for a way back up the cliff edge, the basket of fresh meat clutched tight to her chest as her brother followed behind her, the golden haired stranger hanging loosely in his muscled arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Greece, 1230BC**

Her hands were still as she cleaned the thick, black sludge like substance from the creamy white skin of the man who was stiller than everything. The flickering candles that were placed in inserts and gaps of the wall drew a flickering amber coloured light around the cave, bathing it in a warm glow.

Now, in privacy without fear of being attacked by either wild animals or by the wolf men that were apparently venturing closer and closer with each new full moon, she could study his appearance. He was a handsome man, that much was clear. Pale coloured hair adorned his head, reaching down to his shoulders, shining in the amber light from the candles that was reflected around the cave walls. His pale skin was lighter than his hair, a perfect shade of white, as if no blood ran beneath the thin veil of skin. He had bruises, dark shadows, beneath his eyes, eyes that she knew to be a shade of crimson red, tinged with black from hunger. He was a tall man, but not as tall as Arcadius, and he was well built, but not like a hulking statue of a man like her brother was.

His top half of his attire had been removed so she could clean the defined four claw marks that were slashed across his chest, the planes of muscle toned and defined, telling her he had been a warrior of sorts, or someone who was used to strenuous work before he became a creature of the night. Lysandra gave a soft exhale as she cleaned the oozing black sludge from his wounds, wounds that wouldn't heal for weeks, until the venom of the wolf men had left his system and the venom inside his own immortal body could repair those horrific slashes across his chest.

She blinked softly, hearing Arcadius preparing the meat to eat that night for dinner. He had been wary of going out, now that there was evidence of those beast returning to their area. He had enough meat for one more night, the same meat he'd procured from the boar two days ago. They'd stored it in a section of the cave that got so cold even the water froze, thus keeping it fresh, but he was reluctant to go out now, meaning she would have to procure berries and nuts for the next few nights until the new moon had came and went.

The man in front of her was deathly still, but, a sharp inhale shook her lungs as a hand lunged out for her, for the hand holding the blackened cloth, and it closed around her wrist in a vice like grip. A snarl shook the man as dark, wine red, eyes flashed open, landing on her as she tried to keep calm. He could still be saved, but if Arcadius knew that he was attacking her as such, fire from one of the candles would descend upon him before she could blink.

Fury and agony, a potent mix, shone in the mans darkening eyes. "Get away from me, you filthy vermin!" He hissed, the sound hoarse with not being used for a few days and with a foreign substance coursing through his limbs. He scowled ferociously at her, but she swallowed, blinking softly. "I'm only trying to clean your wounds," she whispered, eyes wide as she watched him carefully.

He snarled once more, the sound too quiet for her brother to hear in another cavern of the cave. "I do not want nor need your help!" He spat. "The only thing your disgusting kind is good for is to nourish and sate mine."

Lysandra swallowed once more. "And without my kind, yours wouldn't survive." She stated quietly, looking down at her knees that were concealed by her long white dress, a simple cloth garment that had belonged to her older sister, something they'd salvaged before fleeing for their lives.

The snarling stopped, and the man looked at her with barely concealed contempt. "Is that so? Why shouldn't I rip your throat out and the other humans in the other room and drink my fill from you both?" He demanded and Lysandra raised her eyes, looking at him calmly, every fibre in her being still holding out hope. "Because my brother and I are the only thing stopping you from being torn to shreds by the wolf men, keeping you safe, cleaning your wounds so they don't fester with their venom and you die, that is why," she answered quietly.

His dark eyes watched her suspiciously, scornfully, venomously, for a moment or two, before he made a noise at the back of his throat. "And your name, what is it?" He asked coolly.

She blinked once. "Lysandra," she answered, a small smile coming to her face. The man eyed her distastefully. "And the other human, your brother, what is his name?" He asked again. He released her wrist and she lowered it onto her lap with the grimy cloth still in it. "Arcadius."

The man was silent for a moment before he spoke. "You know of these, _wolf men_ , as you call them?" He asked.

Her dirty blonde tresses swayed as she nodded. "We do. They ravaged our village almost four winters ago, slayed everyone there but Arcadius and I. Our friends, our neighbours," she swallowed back the rising lump in her throat as she continued to speak. " _Our family, our parents, our siblings_." She pressed her lips together. "They are monsters."

"I am a monster. I kill your kind just as they do. Had I ventured across your village, I would have done the same. What makes us different in your eyes? You are a distasteful species, just like them. You slaughter each other in droves, you hunt and try to slaughter mine. Your kind almost killed me before I was transformed into an immortal. You are a hateful, disgusting, _loathsome_ species that I call my food and drink. Why should I not just drink you and your brother dry and fight for myself? I could disappear into the ocean I hear not far from here, tend to my wounds myself, heal myself, and kill more of your kind."

Lysandra nodded, looking back down at the cloth in her nimble fingers. "But you didn't." She murmured, her eyes raising to look at him. "I don't hate your kind. I don't hate my species. I hate the wolves, not you. Some of your kind help others, care for others. Not everyone of a species speaks for the others. I detest the mindless slaughtering of others. I kill to survive, to eat, nothing more. You do the same. You kill to survive, to make sure you make it until the next day. We do the same, we just have different nourishment."

She exhaled softly before continuing. "I'm not trying to hurt you, to kill you, to deceive you. My brother wanted to leave you to the wolves in order to protect us both. I refused, seeing that you could still be saved. If you leave now, you won't make it far. I know from personal experience that they'll have sent out hunting groups to track you down. It's only a matter of time before they find you, before they find my brother and I. We're sentencing ourselves to a certain death by helping you. I don't ask for nothing in return, neither does Arcadius. He's doing this for _me_ , because I wanted to give you another chance at life, because I believe that everyone deserves another chance."

He was silent as she spoke, and she gave a small incline of her lips. "Not everyone wants to kill you," she whispered softly and the man gave a slight scowl before humming curtly. "As it would seem. I was unaware of these hunting parties they send out." He revealed and she nodded, watching him closely. He gave a bitter scoff under his breath. "I suppose I shall just have to wait them out, until I am healed enough to journey across the ocean." He stated, disgruntled that he would have to spend more time around _human filth_.

A small smile came to her face and she raised her hand, his ruby red eyes flashing to it in an instant. It stilled, and she looked at him for permission. "May I?" She asked quietly and he nodded after a moment, a slight clench of his jaw telling her that he really did absolutely loathe her kind being near him in any regard unless it was for nourishment.

 _Well_ , she mused internally with a small smile. _There was always time to change that_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Greece, 1230BC**

It had been three weeks since the man had been found in the woods, and they still didn't know his name. He refused to give it, stating they weren't worthy enough to know it. While it irritated Arcadius to be called human filth, amongst other things, he tolerated it, _barely_ , but while it was degrading and offensive towards his sister, the happiness she got from caring for the sour man made him remain quiet.

Lysandra chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at the approaching full moon that hovered in the afternoon sky. One more night and it would be upon them, and more than likely the wolf men too. It was foretold that they could hunt an immortal one through their smell from a great distance away. That worried her. Would they track him here?

The man from the rocky surface behind her gave a scowl. "What are you staring at, _child_?" He spat and she glanced over her shoulder before looking back up to the blue sky. "The full moon will be upon us the night after this one," she murmured, but he heard her perfectly, his eyes narrowing in on her standing form near the cave entrance. "Is that fear I sense in you?" He hissed.

She turned, clasping her hands lightly over her stomach. Her eyes dropped to the dirt ground. "You do, yes, but not enough to give you up to them if they come calling. I won't do that." She stated quietly, walking back over slowly and taking a seat on the small rock beside him. His bandages had been recently changed, the previous ones soaked through with the tar like venom of the said moon monsters.

He scoffed, seemingly disbelieving her without hesitation. "You, a small, pitiful human girl, wouldn't turn me over to the beasts in order to save both you and your beloved brother?" He drawled cruelly and Lysandra raised her eyes to look at him. "We've been living on borrowed times for years. How long until they found us even if we didn't take you in? We would be slaughtered, or even worse, made to become like them? It isn't the first time they've changed someone we have known as a punishment? Arcadius would be turned like them without hesitation if they didn't kill us first for sustenance," she answered sadly. Her eyes flickered down to her hands, and he arched a brow. "And yourself? What would become of you, child?"

Lysandra looked at him, pain evident in her own eyes. "I would be turned, and taken to become a wife as one of them. I would be forced to breed more of the bloodline, those children then being turned when they became of age. It happens to most girls of villages they attack when they're lucid. The most beautiful ones are taken as brides and forced to bear the children of beasts in order to ensure survival of their species."

He raised a brow. "Rumours of such are just that, rumours." He drawled, suspicious. "How would you know such?"

A small smile tugged at her lips, a saddened one, a smile that even tugged at his cold, dead, sadistic heart. "I knew of a girl, Delphine, a few summers old than myself. They took her, and we were made to watch as they took her in a beastly way. The man who stole her virtue said he would be back in the winter to see if his seed had taken root inside her, and when he returned, she was heavily swollen with his demon child. He stole her away once more, and when she gave birth to that creatures offspring, he made a show of parading her around the village to show she had birthed this child. You could see on her face she had been broken by him, and then she didn't return, but you often heard tales of how she was onto her sixth child in just five years." She stated quietly.

The man was stoic and silent throughout it, and he looked at her as she continued speaking. "My brother doesn't know that I know, but I know they were there that night to steal myself and some other girls. They found the others, not me. They would have taken me in, groomed me so I would be willing when the time came, and then I would have suffered the same fate as Delphine. My mother said my beauty was a curse, even as a young child, a mere five winters old. She told me I would make men fall at my feet, that they would fight to have me. I laughed at her absurdity, but now, I wish I was the most horrific looking woman in the land, so the wolf men would still not actively seek me."

He eyed her for a moment before nodding, more to himself than to her. "Just another reason why such filth must be wiped out," he hissed under his breath, Arcadius rushing in with wild dark eyes. "Men approach from the east, bearing the marks of the wolf men!" He gasped out, his eyes wild with fright. He looked at the immortal. "You must hide. If they find you with us, or even a trace, they will kill us all, let alone the possibility of turning us to be like them!" He stated, or rather ordered.

The mans eyes narrowed but Lysandra was already moving to help him stand, a statement that would have been absurd and one he would have laughed off before killing her had he not been so weak and unsure of himself. She slipped her hand around his waist and struggled to help him through to the lowest reaches of the cave, one that was far too cold for her to remain in for but a moment. Arcadius rushed forward and slung his arm around the man too, helping his little sister to move faster in order to help hide the immortal man.

They managed to reach the lowest depths in under five minutes. There was a small lake of ice water, and Arcadius motioned towards it. "If you submerge yourself in that, they won't be able to smell you. I advise you do so if you want to live past this night." He stated, the man giving him a sneer at the order before he moved to do as he said, his head of light coloured hair disappearing beneath the black water.

Arcadius scooped her upwards in his arms, sprinting back up the rocky uneven steps towards the main cave where warmth engulfed them. She wriggled from his arms and began to hide the blackened bandages that littered the cave close to the stone ledge where the immortal had been laying upon for the past few weeks.

Her frightened blue eyes met her brothers darker ones. "What will they do?" She whimpered and his dark eyes softened, his tall body standing upright and pulling her in for a crushing hug, her face squashed against his muscular chest. Her body shook with terror and he smoothed a hand down her honey blonde coloured hair. "They won't do anything. Just keep calm," he murmured.

A snapping of branches outside the cave made her heart race, and she started trembling as a thick, tall man with dark bushy black hair and wild, evil dark eyes pushed back the branches that covered the cave entrance, his booted foot meeting the stone floor as he pushed his way inside, a few others following suit, each of them as unkept and animalistic looking as the first.

The man with the dark, cruel looking eyes gave a yellow toothed grin, his eyes sweeping over them both before they landed specifically on the trembling blonde tight inside her brothers embrace. That foul smile widened. "Well, well, well," he murmured, eyes brightening as they remained on Lysandra. "What do we have here?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Greece, 1230BC**

A revolting stench filled her nostrils as the men came further into the cave -there were five of them, each as giant as the last and each as animalistic looking as the last one. She swallowed her fear, her blue eyes wide with terror as her brothers darker ones watched each move they made with caution, his body as tense and ridged as a sword blade, ready to lash out and strike at them should they attempt anything with his sister, his world, _his everything_.

The man who'd entered first barred his yellowish teeth at them both. "I didn't realise these caves were inhabited." He sneered at them and Arcadius swallowed before answering. "We took refuge here when our village was invaded," he murmured and the man snapped his dark eyes over to him. A leering smirk lifted at his chapped lips. "And _when_ would that be?" He hissed.

Arcadius remained stoic. " _A while_ ," he answered calmly.

A wide grin tore at the mans face and he glanced at the others, all of them sniggering under their breaths before smirks tore across their faces too. Lysandra was frozen with terror. It was as if her nightmare had came true, and all she could hope, was that, hopefully, the man in the small lake in the furthest depths of the cave would remain hidden and undetected.

Dark eyes fell to her once more. "And who might this, _ravishing_ young beauty be?" He hissed under his breath, the sound akin to a snake, and Arcadius stiffened ever so slightly. He looked down at Lysandra, smoothing a hand gently down her back, subtly so they wouldn't notice. "My younger sister, Lysandra," he responded and the man grinned a foul, yellow grin. " _Lysandra,"_ he repeated, rolling her name around his mouth before he gave a bone chilling chuckle. "I distinctly remember a young girl with such a name from a village we ransacked a few summers ago. Not an awfully common name around here, but one I remember distinctly." He turned to a man with shaggy black hair and dark bushy brows that looked vaguely familiar to her. "From the same settlement as your wife, Delphine, wasn't she, Atticus?"

Atticus gave a silent, firm nod with a devilish grin, his eyes alight with sadistic enjoyment, and Lysandra felt her blood run cold. _No,_ her inner voice all but screamed. She knew these men, and she knew what they would do soon, something that horrified her to her very core.

The man turned back around, and in a lightening move, a move to quick for her human eyes to see, his hand clenched into a fist and swung towards Arcadius. It landed squarely in the centre of his chest, on one of his lungs, just mere inches from her face. A horrified scream shrieked from her pale pink lips as her brother collapsed, wheezing violently. A booted foot delivered a swift kick to his ribs, catching his lower mouth too, blood trickling out of his mouth as he groaned loudly, anguish and pain evident in the awful sound. Lysandra screamed in horror once more, sobbing with tears pooling in her blue eyes as she made to rush over to him.

The man who'd struck her brother moved faster- hot, red pain speared her cheek, his hand cracking against it. She cried out, falling to the ground, pain jarring up her bones as she fell to the rocky floor. She heard her brother give another agonised groan, a yellowed toothed grin coming into view as the man crouched beside her, his face swimming through the thick haze of tears that clouded her blue orbs.

A grimy hand gripped her wrist causing her to cry out as she felt her skin bruise. His breath made her recoil. "Maybe I should do to you what Atticus did to Delphine," he mused coldly. His eyes trailed down her trembling form, licking his lips loudly. His brow quirked up as he smirked. "I am looking for a wife I suppose," he murmured, flicking a loose blonde hair off of her shoulder. Lysandra flinched in return, his grin widening.

Her eyes widened with horror as he stood up, his hands going to his belt. Arcadius heard it through his delirium of pain and his eyes snapped open, landing on what was happening. He tried to drag himself across the floor towards her, to shield and protect her, but one glance from the man and the others, including Atticus, seized him, pulling him up to his feet while he sagged in their grasp, the pain that seared through his body causing him to groan. He spat on the ground, the blood evident against the stone patch in the dirt floor.

The man crouched beside Lysandra, her quiet sobs and shakes only widening his smirk. He moved, his pants loose, his mouth near her ear. He was about to move when Arcadius fought with a new burst of strength, grimacing at the pain. "Leave her alone!" He snarled, sounding as every bit of a beast as they were for that split moment. He struggled once more. "She hasn't even had her moons blood yet! Doing that will accomplish nothing if you're hoping for her to bear your offspring!" He snapped.

The man stilled, pulling back and standing while Lysandra wept on the ground, tears trickling down her cheeks silently as she shook, her eyes flickering over to her brother, tears falling faster when she saw his already bruising and very evident injuries.

Arcadius remained silent as the man, his mouth curving into a cruel grin. "Is that so? I suppose I can wait until she does, but _you_..." The man trailed off, his grin widening. He pressed his hands behind his back. "I'll ask you some questions, and I would _watch what you say back_ ," he warned, giving a pointed glance down to the preteen who was shaking violently.

The dark haired man remained silent, the threat loud and clear in his mind. The beast of a man smiled and stepped closer. "Good. Now, my men and I, on the last full moon, hunted a man, a bloodsucker. We hunted him, slashed him, and left him for dead a half an hour north, intending to return in the morning with fire to rid ourselves of his scourge. But, when we returned, he was gone, a boar carcass left behind not far away. Care to explain?"

The dark haired Grecian was silent for a moment before he answered. "I don't venture that way, too many wild animals wanting to kill you. We hunt in this general area. Lysandra picks berries, nuts, and I hunt small animals and catch fish from the nearby ocean with the nets behind you." He motioned to them with a grimacing nod. The man glanced at them once before looking back to them. Arcadius jaw clenched ever so slightly. "I don't go North," he repeated, slowly as though to make his point.

The man was silent for a moment before he hummed under his breath. A grin spread across his face. "I'll leave you be then, and your sister, _Lysandra_. But I'll be back. I'll come back each and every year until she _bleeds_ , and then, and only then, I'll take her in front of you, _boy_." He sneered. His hand clenched and it flew forward, upper-cutting him in the ribs and making him groan out and fall to the floor when they released him.

All five of the men laughed before they left the cave, the beast delivering one final kick to his ribs before he too left, a rushing of air sounding before they raced off into the night, howls sounding but a dozen minutes later.

Lysandra wretched out a sob as she dragged herself over to her older brother, pulling him onto her lap and using her only clean cloth to clean the blood off from his face as she sobbed. Blood covered his face, and it devastated her to see him in such a state, having never seen him in such a way before.

It was hours later as she still sat on the ground holding him, her tears long hand dried, her heart numb with pain, when the immortal man staggered into the room, his expression weak but stoned, as though he wouldn't have rather of heard what had taken place a few hours ago. He took in the sight of Lysandra holding her brothers barely conscious form with tear stained cheeks as he slid down the wall, his weak, cold immortal body barely able to hold himself up.

She blinked silently at him before she spoke. "Are you alright?" She whispered, his closed eyes opening to look at her, almost as if he couldn't quite believe what she had just asked considering what she had her brother had just been through. He gave a slow nod of his head before closing his eyes, his chest not moving with breaths, almost as if he was holding his breathe not to breathe in the stench of blood that would cause him to lose control.

Lysandra lowered her eyes to her brother, about to close them to hide the sight of his injuries, when the man spoke, his voice ashen and quiet as he addressed her. "My name is Caius," he stated quietly, her blue eyes moving to his almost black ones in shock, widening ever so slightly as they glassed over with fresh, unshed tears. He looked at her, giving a firm nod. "My name is Caius, and, it would seem, human, I am something I never thought I would say, especially to a creature akin to vermin, and it is something I will never say again -I am indebted to you both."


	5. Chapter 5

**Greece, 1230BC**

Arcadius folded his arms over his chest. "You want me to find you someone so you can feed?" He repeated, a dark brow arched in something akin to disbelief.

A small smirk tugged at the blonde immortals face. "Yes, lest you wish for me to lose control and drain either yourself or Lysandra, neither of which I assume would appeal to you." He stated and the dark haired giant of a man hummed. "No, it doesn't appeal to me. Do I have the right to trust I won't return to my sister dead at your feet?"

Black eyes, darkened with thirst, shone slyly at him. "Depends how long you take," he commented airily, the dark haired man's blue eyes darkening considerably before he stiffly turned around and walked rigidly from the cave, his strong jaw clenched.

Blue eyes watched as the immortal man whom she'd since learnt was called Caius switched his black gaze to her. He arched a brow. "You have something you wish to say?" He questioned and the corner of her lips tugged up. "No. I think it would be best if we were to both remain silent. You said breathing in with me so close is like swallowing fire. I would rather not have to incite such pain upon someone, even you, with such acts." She answered softly.

Caius raised his brow higher. "Is that so? Perhaps I will remain silent, for a moment, at least until your brother returns." Dark eyes shone with ill concealed dark amusement. "You can speak, human. You can tell me about how you feel about being made to marry such _filth_ when you bleed?"

Lysandra stilled in her repairing of his tunic, the blunt needle in her hand stilling, the thread pulled tight. She looked at him, her eyes filled with pain, a pain, that, much to his ire and fury, caused something he'd never in his century and a half of life felt and had never watched to feel either. Damn these humans, already changing him, something he pushed down with an inward bitter, darkened scoff that would've put a laugh by Hades to shame.

Her small, bony shoulders rose and then fell. "I feel horror. I knew I recognised them, deep down inside me. They would have been part of the same clan that destroyed my home and my family those four years ago. I don't want to become a wife to that man. Anyone who would attempt to do that to a child of my age is a monster in themselves, much less the act of forcing that onto a woman. I don't want my life story to be of that nature."

His dark eyes watched as a small smile spread across her face, her clear blue eyes looking to his onyx coloured ones. "I want a life where I chose to do what I wanted to do in it. I don't want to marry because I'm forced to. I want to marry someone of my choosing, someone who would do anything for me and I them. I don't want to be forced to marry someone to breed them a new generation." Her shoulders raised and fell again. "I want to marry for love, to marry because I found that one person who makes my soul complete, the one person whom the Gods have chose me to be a half of."

She gave a small smile as she looked at him, aware of his intensely burning gaze, one that looked more intrigued than hateful as it usually was. She gave a simple shrugging of her shoulders as she looked to him. "Is that so wrong to want?" She asked quietly.

Caius was silent for a moment as he mulled her words over, using the last of his air intake as he spoke. " _No_ ," he mused coolly. "It isn't wrong to want such a thing, but you humans rarely find such love. Love is such a human emotion. Immortals _, vampires_ , we find that soul consuming love that your kind can only dream about."

Lysandra gave a slightly wider tilt of her lips. "I suppose I shall just have to prove you wrong when I find that ever so elusive love," she mused and his pale lips curved into a sadistically amused smirk at the challenge she had put forward. "I guess we shall see then, _human_."

* * *

Arcadius returned when it was dark, and the blonde immortals eyes immediately narrowed in on the man who was slung over his shoulder, the dark haired man not even looking fazed by the obvious weight of the man as he carried him in. Lysandra was asleep in the far corner of the cave, her petite form swallowed whole by the numerous pelts and homemade sheets they'd managed to scavenge from the village after it was destroyed. There was numerous pelts and sheets piled high, one on top of each of each, in order to make her sleeping area somewhat comfortable. Her blonde tresses were cast around her head like a golden crown, a halo for the perfectly angelic looking preteen, who, although he still held disdain for her and her kind, Caius had to admit, albeit reluctantly, had seen too much for someone of her age.

The blonde smirked as the man, albeit dead with his neck snapped, was dropped to his feet, Arcadius folding his arms across his chest. "I assume the bigger they are, the more blood they hold for you," he clipped and the smirk widened. "You would be somewhat correct, human. I suggest you go over to your sister. I doubt you want to be within reaching distance when I'm finished." He plucked the man up effortlessly from the stone floor, Arcadius eying him warily before doing as he suggested.

He had just stepped beside Lysandra, bending down to check she was alright as he always did when she slept, when a snarl ripped around the cave, along with a gurgling noise. He glanced back over his shoulder, seeing the blonde immortal man bent over the man, his nostrils flaring as he drank ferociously, a crimson red colour flooding his eyes as he drank the blood of the man whose eyes were now wide open, a hand pressed tight against his windpipe being the only thing stopping him from screaming out as something akin to fire burned through his flesh, something hotter than fire embedded in his throat.

Arcadius turned his eyes back down to Lysandra, his only surviving sibling frowning in her sleep before she shuffled around, the pelts that she'd woven together falling off of her. He leant over, pressing a kiss to her head before he pulled them back up over her shoulders, her brows furrowing once more before they smoothed out.

A groan of what could be described as something akin to a dehydrated man who'd just finished drinking water sounded behind him, and he turned around, his blue eyes landing on the blonde haired immortal as he leant against the cave wall, a drop of blood evident on his lower lip as the man, now a limp and bloodless corpse, dropped to the ground with a sickening thud.

The dark haired man stood up, walking over and leaning against the cave wall as he distastefully eyed the blonde haired man. "Feel better?" He clipped, arms folding across his muscular chest as he spoke.

Ruby red eyes flashed open as landed on the human man. "I do, _somewhat_ , but it would feel better after one thing," he commented airily, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Arcadius raised a brow. "And what would that be?" He asked back, just as tightly,

Before he could even blink or utter out a surprised exclamation, a blurred blonde image shot in front of him and a ice cold hand locked around his throat, slamming him against the cave wall. A smirk tore at pale lips, although, it was pained due to the white hot fire that lanced across his chest, the barely healed claw marks tearing once more and oozing thick black sludge into the bandages that were tapered tightly across the planes of muscle on his chest.

A hiss left his throat. "Now, why shouldn't I kill you, wait until the girl as healed me, and then kill her too? You both bother me with your irksome displays of affection for one another!" He spat. "Sibling love! It is pathetic! You truly believe you have a chance in this world, a chance to live out how you want while you share land with such vermin such as yourselves!"

Arcadius gasped for air, the hand loosening a little to allow him to speak. " _Lysandra believed you could be saved_ ," he wheezed out, eyes wide as his face began to turn red. " _I told her you couldn't be saved, that you would only bring death and destruction from yourself or the wolves! I warned her!"_ He choked out, shaking his head all that it could manage in the position he was in. "I love my sister more than life itself. If I was asked to choose between myself and her, I would chose myself to die, because, she is the only thing pure in this world."

Caius scoffed, ager pulsing across his face. "Lies! Nothing is pure in this world!" He snarled and Arcadius shook his head. " _Is that why you haven't killed her yet_?" He countered in a desperate wheeze, a look crossing the immortals face before he gave a disgusted scoff and dropped the dark haired man, air desperately rushing back into his lungs as he gasped and wheezed for it. He turned back around, ruby red eyes full of rage and disgust, grimacing as he sat back down, feeling the black sludge ooze from his wounds once more.

Blue eyes looked at the immortal. "I see how you look at her," he mused quietly, red eyes snapping around to lock with blue. He went to retort but Arcadius shook his head, rubbing his throat. "I don't know what happened to you in order to make you so cold, so shut off to any emotion other than hate and anger, and honestly, I don't care. Lysandra and I watched our mother, our father, our seven brothers and sister get torn apart in front of our eyes while we hid like cowards in a tree that I had to restrain her in and cover her mouth because she was screaming and crying so hard. Am I resentful? A little, I'll admit that, but I have never, ever let that stop me from seeing some of the good that still resides in the world, and do you know who reminds me of that every day?"

Arcadius motioned back to the sleeping blonde, still oblivious to what was happening only three dozen feet from where she laid. "She saw what I did, and still, even though she didn't speak for a month afterwards, that girl wakes up with a smile on her face and goes to sleep with a smile on her face. She's seen some of the things that a girl of only twelve winters old should never ever have to see, and still, she smiles as though she's the happiest person in the world. I don't know how she can do that. I desperately wish I could do that, I do."

He shook his head. "As I said, I don't care for you, _but she does_. She doesn't care how you treat her, how badly you hate her, all she does is care for you without asking for anything back. In your debt," he continued, "means nothing to her. You can tell her that until the day she takes her last breath. If you say something like that, _prove it_ ," he breathed and red eyes narrowed before they returned to normal, and the blonde immortal hummed curtly. "I don't like how she makes me feel," he hissed lowly.

Arcadius gave a wry smirk, folding his arms over his chest once more. "I suggest you learn to live with it, as long as you reside here, because she won't stop until she's made you believe some good still resides in this world."

Caius scoffed, his mouth curling down into a scowl. "Now that we will agree to disagree on."


	6. Chapter 6

**Greece, 1230BC**

Water dripped down her arms as she washed the cloths, the water black with the venom of the wolves that stalked the night once a month. A soft sigh left her lips. His wounds were almost healed. It would only be a week before he would be completely healed. Yet, although he would be healed, she was uncertain if those thick black claw marks across his chest would ever heal. Maybe they would, with the millennia to come, but she wouldn't know. She doubted she would ever see him again after he left.

The said man was laid motionless behind her, eyes shut, chest unmoving with breaths that he didn't need nor want. She didn't know how she would feel when he left. There would be nothing else to do during the day but etch her illustrations onto the cave walls that Arcadius loved so much and collect berries from around the cave as well as do mere small tasks around the cave while he went and foraged for food and clean drinking water.

A soft sigh left her lips as she stood, getting up to allow the cloths to dry as she hung them on a small rocky ledge on the cave wall. Water dripped down the cave wall from the cloths, the dripping noise echoing ominously throughout the chamber.

A rustling of fabric sounded behind her. "Human," his voice called and she turned around, blue eyes blinking softly as they found red irises. He motioned with a pale white finger to the edge of the stone ledge he was laid upon and she did so, tucking the skirt of her dress underneath her legs as she placed one behind another.

Ruby red eyes focussed upon her. "What I am about to ask of you will seal how your life turns out, for better, or for worse," he stated coolly and she gave a gentle nod, a small smile on her face as she folded her hands in her lap, eyes focussed on his face as she listened to what he was about to say.

He was silent for a moment before he sat up straighter, eyes focussed intensely on her blue ones. "If you could ask me for anything, what would it be?"

Lysandra gave a small frown as she mulled over his question before she gave a wide smile, looking at him. "I would ask that you find someone," she answered softly, her smile gentle. He arched a brow and she looked down at her clasped hands before back to him. "I would ask that you find someone who you believe is good enough in a dark world to not be consumed by said darkness, someone who will remain pure and warm to you throughout your no doubt many millennia's of existence that are to come."

Caius was quiet, words he had never thought that would've came out of her mouth coming out of them. He would've expected her to ask for immortality, for him to annihilate the Children of the Moon, to give her brother and herself eternal life, not for _him_ to find someone in this world who would make him _whole_ , in a round about way of saying such a thing.

And little did she know, she'd just achieved all of the above without ever even saying any of those fore mentioned things.

* * *

The moon, a half moon, shone bright in the midnight sky, a bright, gleaning half circle that illuminated the forest around them. It was cool, a gentle breeze rustling the undergrowth as they both stood on the edge of the sandy shoreline, the waves lapping at the golden sands not even a hundred feet from where they stood.

Lysandra gave a small smile as she held the repaired, heavy cloak out. "Here. I've been repairing it since we first found you," she answered softly when he gave her a look.

The blonde immortal shook his head. "Keep it, human. I'll be back for it in half a dozen years or so, but only if you prove something to me." He took a step closer. "Every three hundred days, I will revisit this shoreline. If you are here each of those times until I deem it time to reveal myself back to you, then you are true to your words that you believe there is still good in this dismal world of ours. If you don't turn up but one of those times, then you don't mean those words you spoke so passionately." He wagered.

A small smile graced her lips as she shook her head. "You don't need to come back for us. We never asked for anything in return for helping you," she answered and a dry smirk appeared on his face. "But you did. You asked me to find someone who is pure and warm to me, but I'm not like the beasts or men. I'll return for you when I deem it to be the right time, as I will for Arcadius. I owe you one, humans, and I always repay my debts, regardless of the person they are." He stated coolly.

Lysandra gave a small smile as she hugged the cloak tight to her chest. "I'll take good care of it, I promise," she whispered and Arcadius lifted his chin slightly. "A half days trek from here is a settlement, maybe a quarter of a days trek for you. I suggest you feed before you begin on your travels if you're to get a head start on the wolf men." He suggested.

Caius gave a slight smirk as he looked at the dark haired man. "Now you might just make a good vampire, Arcadius," he jested cruelly and the dark haired man gave a barely concealed, amused tilt of his lips as he placed a hand on Lysandra's shoulder. "We'll see. We should be going back to the cave. They still have patrols here nightly, even in their human form. I'd rather not chance being on the end of those teeth." He stated dryly.

The blonde man nodded curtly, looking vaguely uncomfortable at the prospect of that happening again. He looked at Lysandra. "Until we meet again, Lysandra," he glanced at the man, "Arcadius," he clipped before, in a rush of air, he vanished from sight, leaving the two siblings standing alone, on the beach, nothing but the moon illuminating the golden sands around them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Greece, 1223BC**

Pulling her hair into its normal style, she slid another pin into the blonde curls that adorned her head. A small smile twisted at her lips as she glanced across the cave towards the dark haired man, now twenty six summers old, his form having grown in both size and bulk. Her blue eyes drifted back to the heavy, fur lined, red and black cloak in front of her, folded up lovingly and placed in the corner above where her bed was like it was every day.

Lysandra reached over, her smile widening, as she gently lifted it up off the crevice in the cave wall, placing it around her shoulders with the utmost care before she fastened the clasp around her shoulders, securing it over her ocean blue dress that had once been her mothers. It had been tucked away for over a decade, and now, she finally fit into it perfectly. She remembered her mother wearing it as she moved about the house, the long blue skirt flowing gracefully as she moved.

Movement in the corner of her eyes alerted her to company. Arcadius held the fishing nets in his hands, his blue eyes watching her. "You ready to go and catch some food?" He asked and she nodded. "Yes," she murmured in response and he nodded, picking up his spear also as he made to walk out of the cave, Lysandra bending down on her way out to pick up the basket.

A cool winter breeze ruffled her loose curls as she walked with her brother. Arcadius glanced down at her. "Do you believe he'll come this year?" She asked and Arcadius hummed, readjusting his hold on both the nets and his spear. "Perhaps. You are a woman now, maybe he will," he answered, looking down at her, and Lysandra gave a wry smile. "Not quite, otherwise the beasts would have taken me last week," she pointed out.

His brow raised a bit and he hummed stiffly. "I know. I wonder if this is Hera's way of making sure you remain untouched and safe from evil?" He asked.

Lysandra gave her brother a warm smile as they approached the shoreline, frothy waves crashing just metres away from where they stood. "I suppose we'll just have to find out, won't we?" She teased with a warm, beaming smile before breaking out into a run towards the shoreline, a screaming laugh echoing from her lips as she entered the cold water.

Blue eyes rolled as he followed behind after her, a wry grin on his face as he took after his only remaining sibling, her melodious laughter reaching even the blonde haired man, who, unbeknownst to them both, was watching with red eyes from the cliff edge to the east five miles away, as he always was, _every three hundred days_.

* * *

Sand plastered up her legs, four hours later, and her skin felt blistering warm, even underneath the winter sun. Arcadius placed the basket beside her, it only containing around half a dozen fish, none too big. She gave a small smile. "You can take some of mine," she whispered and his jaw tightened. "No, Lysandra, we've had this conversation before. I can do without for a week or two, making do on what we find around the cave. You're already thin enough, you need to eat." He answered firmly.

Her blonde tresses shook as she shook the head they resided upon, turning to face him. "No, Cade. I will not watch while you go without food. You've done so for eleven years and I don't want to see it anymore," she pleaded. Her brother sighed. "No, Lysandra, it isn't happening. I'll hunt a boar tomorrow afternoon or some other forest creature, I promise."

She hummed, turning her blue eyed gaze back to the rolling waves. It was a calming sight, something that could rarely be said anymore about the land she'd called home all her life. The attacks on nearby villages were growing in frequency every time the full moon rose and shone high in the sky. There were hardly any villages left close now, the land for miles becoming known around the surrounding areas as wolf territory, otherwise known as _dead-mans-land_.

Arcadius's expression softened a bit as he glanced at her, his hand reaching out to grasp her own. He gave it a gentle squeeze, her blue eyes flickering to his. He shook his head. "I'll not let them hurt you," he promised gently, a sad smile coming to his face as he looked at her. A small smile covered hers as she squeezed back. "You shouldn't make promises you cannot keep, big brother," she reminded him gently, sliding her hand out of his before standing and readjusting the heavy cloak around her shoulders. She inclined towards the forest behind her. "Come on, big brother. Might as well do that hunt now."

* * *

The wild boar that laid at her feet didn't bother her anymore. She had to toughen up after the blonde immortal left. While he'd been with them, it'd created a false sense of security in the well-known fact that his kind could fight off most beings and that he'd be able to fight off the wolves in the days before and after they transformed beneath the full moon, not close to.

It didn't bother her anymore when Arcadius carved off the bits of meat they could eat to survive. She helped him, taking them from him and placing them into the lined basket, red dripping through the woven reed stems. It always did. It painted the forest floor, a stark contrast to the murky brown beneath her sandal covered feet.

Arcadius wiped at his brow as he sat back on her feet. "That should do it, leave the rest to the wild." He looked at her, her nod bobbing as she picked the basket up, her brother carrying the spear and sword he always had on hunts, the latter having been acquired during a ransack of a demolished village.

Such a sight was upon them now. Lysandra covered her mouth with a silent gasp as she surveyed the wreckage. It was a village they often passed close to but never through, and now, she was glad they hadn't. Her stomach curdled as she looked at the bodies that were carelessly strewn across the ground, discarded like dolls after a young child had grown bored with them.

A strong smell of rust hung in the air. Red painted damaged huts, dripping from the homes like open wounds. It was a horrific sight. She took a step forward and a crunch sounded underneath her foot. Blue eyes squeezed shut as she battled to keep her breakfast down, what little she'd had anyways. Her foot lifted and she stepped back, her eyes still squeezed shut, unwilling to look down and see what, or rather _whom_ , she'd stepped on.

Arcadius made a noise beside her. "I'll have a look around, see what we can salvage from this." He murmured, glancing towards her, seeing her eyes screwed as shut as she could get them. She shuddered a breath in and out. Dead animals were one thing, but slaughtered women and their babes? That was in a whole other category.

The cool breeze rustled her fair blonde hair, blowing a few loose strands across her fair skinned face. She exhaled softly, turning around, her back against the carnage that laid behind her. Her eyes opened. The air was still thick with the stench of death. It clogged her throat and stung her eyes, a few sorrowful droplets leaking down her cheeks.

A cracking of underbrush alerted her to company, along with the pungent stench of bodily odour and dried blood. It made her skin crawl, and reminded her of the very beings that were behind the horrific destruction demonstrated behind her. The monster taunted her. "Worry not, little Lysandra," it drawled. "You will soon revel in their death alongside me."

She turned, coming face to face with the same man of the moon who had taunted her each and every year since they had helped Caius. Her top lip curled up. "Who said I was worrying?" She clipped. Severus grinned, blood staining his yellow teeth. It almost made her wretch. "You seem to be growing some ill-placed courage, Lysandra. Should I go and find Arcadius as he scavenges for you both?" He uttered through bared teeth.

Lysandra swallowed but remained stone-like, her expression neutral. He grinned wider, his eyes falling the aforementioned man as he came into view, a woven burlap sack carrying his acquisitions. Arcadius stopped. "Severus." He greeted rigidly. He looked to Lysandra as she remained still, silent, and then back to the repulsive man. "Is something wrong?"

Severus chuckled, the sound making the hairs on the back of her neck stand to full attention. He took a step forward, and she supressed the urge to move back. "Nothing at all, _Arcadius_ ," he hissed through his teeth, the noise akin to a snake. "I was just telling Lysandra how I'll be coming for her next summer, regardless if she has bled or not." He stated casually.

Her eyes bulged in response to his words. "I'll be useless to you." She argued. Arcadius placed a hand on her shoulder in warning. She ignored it and continued speaking -"what use am I if I cannot bear a child?" She snapped.

He laughed in response to her words. "You can have many other uses, my sweet girl. You'll soon find them out. I suggest, strongly, that you begin to prepare yourself. A full moon is such a wonderful time for the wolf and his significant other." His words almost made her lose what little she'd had for her breakfast.

* * *

Blue eyes stung as she wiped her mouth, her breakfast, or what remained of it, discarded on the sand of the beach behind her while Arcadius went and procured some fresh water for her to rinse her mouth out with. She gagged, the taste in her mouth anything but pleasant.

Time was running out. Her mind began whirling with all the possibilities of how the next three hundred days would play out. It was more than likely that Caius wouldn't return. What made this next three hundred days any different than the other ones? She always held out hope that she would see his familiar head of golden hair somewhere in the trees as she went past each and every one of them, and she'd held out that hope since she was twelve years old, and that hope had increased since she had been just shy of her seventeenth summer, when those longing feelings turned into something more, something more dangerous and forbidden.

Did he know what Severus had just threatened? Did he know she was in danger, both she and Arcadius? Probably not. He more than likely had no idea what had even happened, let alone what she looked like now. She longed for just a glimpse of him, just to know that her preteen feelings about what kind of man he had been hadn't been thought of in vain.

Arcadius came up beside her, a small coconut shell holding water clutched in his hands. She took it eagerly, gulping it down and breathing a sigh of relief as it washed the stale taste from her mouth. He looked at her solemnly. "I am sorry, little sister," he murmured, but she shook her head, turning around to face him. "I don't want apologies." She stated briskly and his brows furrowed. "What do you want then?" He asked quietly.

Her eyes tightened. "I want you to teach me how to fight."

His pale blue eyes, exact replicas of her own, widened as he looked down at her. "No, Lysandra. Women do not fight," he stated gently and her eyes narrowed. "Then do not look at me as though I am a woman!" She spat back, already her patience wearing thin. His brows furrowed further. "I will not be looked upon as weak. I will fight for my survival. I will not be controlled by a beast who seeks to turn me into nothing more than a broodmare for his own pleasure. I will not bow down to a man any longer," she retorted defiantly.

Arcadius was silent before he reached into the burlap sack that was on the beach behind them. He pulled out two sheathed blades, both wielding a blade of over three feet long. He held one out to her, unsheathing his own as she took it with careful, gentle hands. She gripped the hands, pulling the sheath off and gazing at the shined surface of the steeled metal.

He gave her a stern look. "You will not quit this when you begin." He stated sternly. Her eyes snapped to his. "You will fight for it, I will not go easy on you. You wish to not be looked at as a woman, I will train you like a man. When you ache from holding the blade, you will hold it for longer. When you cut yourself, you will remain standing and fight to regain control. Do you understand me, Lysandra?" He ground out though tightly clenched teeth.

Her blue eyes were firm when she met his as she gripped the handled blade even tighter, the weight already making her arm ache. She gave a firm nod of her head. "I understand you, and I will not disappoint you, brother."

* * *

Red eyes darkened with rage. His teeth bared as he sank beneath the waves once more. Time was against him. She would train and become stronger, but it still wouldn't be enough to fight off the scourge of the mutts that shared the island with them both. He had to get their new home ready faster, regardless of whether it would be temporary while they lived out their newborn periods. He dove beneath the waves, the golden sanded beach behind him vanishing as sounds of metal on metal resonated through his mind.

* * *

 **Authors note: Sorry for the long update time guys, but y'know, life does call. Next chapter is where it all kicks off. Hope you guys enjoy.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Greece, 1222BC**

Sweat dripped down her back as she fended off his strikes, her arms twisting easily as she whirled around and struck her sword against his own. Arcadius grunted as he swung, Lysandra pushed back as their blades met. "Tired yet?" She jested and he grinned, pushed back against her. "Absolutely not," he retorted as he dodged her strike.

Lysandra clenched her teeth as she spun around, her foot striking around against his leg before she swiped her own blade towards him. Arcadius jumped back, holding his blade out in front of him in warning. He straightened out of his crouch. "Almost, Lysandra. You must learn other ways to disarm those who wish to do you harm. You could have an injured leg in a battle and be unable to use it. Think of other ways, sister." He stated firmly.

She straightened out of her crouch, sighing softly. "It won't matter regardless," she huffed. "Severus has made it clear nothing would stop him taking me next week. He says I must or he will turn you into a beast." She continued and his jaw tightened. "He will make me a beast regardless of what you do, Lysandra. He will to punish me for defending you over the years." He stated coolly.

Her eyes softened a little and she moved forward. "I would rather die than allow you to become like them," she whispered, trying to meet his eyes.

But they weren't focussed on her; the blue orbs were focussed on something behind her. A crunch of sand and stones told her they weren't alone anymore. Arcadius gave a slight tilt of his lips upwards, and his blue eyes drifted down to her own. "Somehow, I don't believe you will have to go to such drastic lengths in order to keep me safe, little sister," he drawled as his hands clasped her shoulders, gently turning her around.

Blood pounded in her head as she took in the sight she'd been wishing for over the last almost eight years. She couldn't stop her feet even if she had tried to do so; her sword dropped to the sandy beach with a metallic noise. She ran forward, her sandaled feet sinking into the scorching hot sand. She stumbled into stone cold arms, the coolness making her inhale sharply as she remembered the sensation from all those months ago. She wound her arms around him, feeling his arms hesitantly come around her in return.

Still not one for humankind then.

Lysandra pulled back, her eyes bright as the glistened with tears. "You returned," she gasped out, ruby red eyes meeting her blue ones. She swallowed, hearing her brother approach from behind.

A cold hand cradled her face, Caius's red eyes sweeping over her face, as if he was trying to find the twelve year old who had saved his life in her face. He didn't disappoint himself. She was still the same, just older, different in how she looked, but not in how she held herself, how she spoke, how she _felt_. He nodded, swiping his cold thumb lightly over her cheekbone, the touch akin to that of a stone feather in her opinion. "I said I would." He answered simply.

Arcadius nodded his head from behind her. "Caius," he greeted, the immortal tearing his eyes away from Lysandra for a moment to look at the now matured man in front of him. "Arcadius," he responded curtly, his eyes looking into the forest briefly before back to the two humans in front of him. "I assume you've had issues with the wolves?"

The blonde stiffening in his grasp gave him all the answers he needed. "I need you to last one more night. I need to feed before I even consider turning the both of you. It isn't something I have done before, at least not successfully. I need to be sated fully before I make you like me."

Lysandra looked up at him through her lashes, her eyes soft. "Will it hurt?" She whispered and he looked at her. "No," he answered curtly and she nodded, her head resuming its position on his chest. Salt water clung to her cheeks from his cloak. She wore his old one over his shoulders, his cold hand resting on her lower back.

Arcadius nodded. "When will we need to be ready for your return?" He inquired and Caius looked at him. "I will return for you at nightfall. There is an island an hours swim from here, going at my speed. I will transfer you both across under the cover of darkness. There we will remain while you go through your newborn period as an immortal. It will be too dangerous to travel with you both through others territories while you are both unable to control your urges." He drawled, his eyes brightening at the thought of all the carnage, destruction and bloodlust that would follow in the upcoming year.

* * *

A beaming smile couldn't be taken from her face as she dashed around the small cave they both called home. A small pouch was being filled with the things they held nearest and dearest to them both; it would go with them into their new lives, but nothing else would. She had been told to bring none of their garments; there were some waiting for them.

Arcadius had left to go and keep watch over the cave entrance a while ago. He didn't trust Severus. He knew he would come earlier, an attempt to catch them by surprise and lull them both into false security in thinking they had another week of freedom.

It was finally happening; she was free. Her mind drifted back to the embrace on the beach. Had she imagined it? The feel of his hand resting against the small of her lower back as he embraced her back? Did his feelings match hers? A sad smile came to her face. She doubted it. To him, although she wasn't to be soon, she was still the same creature he despised. Could you love something you hated so much? She didn't think so, but that tiny sharp of hope in her heart didn't go away, no matter how she reasoned with it that it just didn't make sense and wasn't true.

A clattering noise drew her attention, and not a second later, Arcadius came storming through, his face a mask of sheer panic. He seized her hand, her free hand enclosing around the little pouch filled with their sentimental belongings. He began to pull her out of the cave.

Lysandra seized up in terror as she heard the shouts along with the distant glow of fire torches. "Is that him coming for me?" She cried out, seemingly rigid with fear, and he pulled her away towards the cliffs. She tripped and crashed into him. Arcadius wound an arm around her waist, keeping her upright as he began to run at full speed towards the cliffs.

Her heart thrummed its terror too as her eyes displayed it. Caius hadn't came a day too soon. She should have known Severus wouldn't have let her have another week when it was so close to him getting her on a full moon. She had heard horrific stories, some he had made sure reached her personally from the villages they occasionally ventured into. Some contained tales of how amazing it was to be a being beholden to the moon, how you found and experiences pleasures beyond a mere mortals comprehension, and others were horrific, about how their wives became so savaged each full moon with their frantic couplings that their bodies became mere mangled images of what they used to be.

She didn't plan on finding out.

Arcadius skidded as he came to the top of the cliffs, just managing to stop himself from pulling both he and Lysandra off the edge. Rocks crumbled from the edge and disappeared into the dark ocean below, lost in the fast approaching nightfall.

A group emerged from the forest behind him, Severus at the forefront. He grinned, his rotten teeth lighting up in the torchlight. He laughed. "Cornered, you foolish man." He jeered, eliciting several laughs from other members of his hunting party. He walked forward, Lysandra shaking with each step he took as he grew nearer. "I'm going to enjoy making you one of us, and making you watch as I mount your sister in front of the whole pack." He sneered.

Lysandra looked back at the waters, her eyes widening when she caught a glimpse of blonde hair amongst the black waters. She looked back to Severus, discretely nudging her brother and taking a step back. She squared her jaw and tipped her chin up. "Your arrogance will be your downfall, Severus," she answered calmly, her bones no longer shaking with fear as she took another step back. Arcadius had too noticed what she had, and he joined her with two steps back, both of them on the edge of the cliff, rocks crumbling beneath their feet.

He looked back at his group and laughed, the sound rattling through her head painfully. "Is that so? And why is that?"

She smiled widely as she gathered the courage to jump to the icy, dark waters below. "You neglected to kill the immortal man who I hid away from you and healed when I was only twelve summers old." She revealed, not missing how his smile dropped, his teeth bared and how he snarled at the mention of the blonde man who had evaded death at his hands. "I cleaned his wounds of your venom and kept him safe while you hunted for him, and I have spent every three hundred days since awaiting his return, just as he awaits both Arcadius and I in the ocean below." She sneered back.

Severus let out a bone chilling laugh. "There isn't a way out of this where you both survive, Lysandra. If you jump from this cliff, every bone in your body will break on impact with the water, you know that. He will probably leave you in the water to drown, the both of you." He laughed again.

A small smile took hold of her lips and she shook her head. "No, he won't." She whispered before she let herself fall backwards. She saw her brothers eyes widen before he too fell backwards. Her eyes drifted shut as the wind rushed past her falling body. Something warm and wet hit her face, a rusty smell filling her senses, and she heard shouting before she hit the hard surface of the water, pain splintering all over her body before the world faded into darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

**Greece, 1222BC**

It was peaceful. Nothing but the sound of rolling water filled her ears as she peeled her eyes open. A starlight lit sky was hazy above her as she gazed upwards. The sand was wet against her back. She would feel water soaking her shoulders, sand sticking to her exposed skin. A strange numbness coated her legs. She tried to move them, her brows weakly furrowing as she found she couldn't move them. It was as though they didn't belong to her body.

A strange screaming could be heard from somewhere close by, but it came through muffled, like she was still under the water. A crunching noise was approaching her. Where was Caius? Had he pulled them from the waves? Or had both she and Arcadius washed up on the shore, and was that Severus coming to stake his claim over her? Where was Arcadius? Was he hurt?

Someone knelt beside her, and her eyes struggled to focus. It was a woman. Her long blonde tresses were draped on either side of her head. She smiled down at her, but it wasn't a kind smile. It was a smile that you gave to someone you didn't really like but your hands were tied as to their feelings. She picked Lysandra up off of the sand, her ruby eyes rolling irritably when she gave a sound of pain as all of her nerve endings upwards of her waist came alive, her bones on fire. She still couldn't move her legs and it frightened her. "Where is Arcadius?" She breathed wearily, her eyes drifting around. "Where is Caius?"

The woman gave a bitter scoff under her breath. The human was asking for him. "Arcadius is currently undergoing the transformation. Now you, on the other hand, I am going to advise him that he does not change you and allows you to die. Your brother has use, you, on the other hand, do not." The woman clipped.

Lysandra couldn't make sense of her words, the darkness beckoning her once more. She awoke as she was being lowered against a bed, the soft luxurious sheets gentle against her burning skin. The woman was stood beside the doorway, just visible through the tent curtains. The drapes were red and gold, and she could make out that the woman wasn't very happy she was here. Her hands were flying about all over the place, her eyes angrily drifting to her occasionally. She screamed something -the sound was muffled somewhat- and stormed off, her golden tresses flowing out behind her.

The drapes shifted. There he was. He was wearing the clothes she had seen nobles from far away lands wear, the red and black making him look king like. He walked over to her, his hands loose at his sides, and he sat beside her. Her brows furrowed as she looked at him through weary eyes. "Are you going to kill me? She said she was going to make it so." She whispered softly.

Caius was silent for a moment before he answered. Her throat constricted and she turned her head away, closing her eyes as she readied herself for the deadly blow that she was now almost certain he would deliver to her neck, ending her life. The woman had made it sound so certain, and now his silence... It was all too much to bear for her heart.

A cold finger on her left cheek turned her head back towards him, and she opened her eyes slowly, the ocean blue orbs glistening with unshed tears. He stroked the finger down her cheek. "Athenodora can be dramatic sometimes. She does not appreciate that I haven't taken her as my mate," he murmured.

A lone tear trickled down her cheek as she looked at him; he stared at it before he looked back to her. "Why haven't you?" She whispered softly. It hurt to even think of him loving someone else, let alone the mere possibility of it. What if he was going to kill her? He hadn't denied it.

He hummed, another tear of hers trickling down his finger. "I was going to, but then I met you," he began, his red eyes boring into hers. They were darkened to a deep crimson; she found herself getting lost in them. "You taught me not to find someone for convenience, but rather for someone I viewed as an equal and who in turn would never betray me. I waited for you not to appear on that beach every three hundred days, but there you were. You never betrayed me, Lysandra. You gave me hope that despite in this disgusting world we live in, plagued by all different kinds of filth, whether beast or man, you showed me that not all are to be tarnished with the same cloth."

Her tears trickled down her cheeks freely now as she listened to him speak. "I longed for you to appear, and when you did," she let out a shaky exhale. Her eyes brimmed with salty water. "It was like my heart was complete inside my chest. The thought of you not returning became like a nightmare over the years. I longed to be able to touch you again, to know you were real and that my kindness had caused someone to take another outlook on life. The mere thought of you forgetting me and loving another is too painful to even think of." She gasped out, giving a soft cry as fresh pain spiked through her upper spine. She lifted her head, the mere motion causing a thousand needles to rip through her skin. She looked to her legs, twisted and mangled by her impact into the waves, frowning as she tried to move them and found herself unable to do so. "Why can I not move?" She whispered, her head falling back as she looked to him. "Where is Arcadius?"

Caius was silent for a moment before he answered. "You damaged your spine upon your impact with the ocean. The beast was able to launch a spear through Arcadius's chest as he was falling into the ocean after you. I had to change him first otherwise he would not have survived until now. He has been changing for hours now. I had to remain by his side in order to make sure he survived the first dozen and a half. He nearly didn't."

A gasping breath of a sob rattled through her chest and she looked at him. "Am I going to die?" She whimpered and he hummed as he leant in. "A way of looking at the outcome, I suppose," he answered coolly as he leant in. Tears began to pour from her eyes. She could feel his cold breath on her throat; she shivered. Her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for him to end her. "Before you kill me," she whispered softly, her eyes relaxing as she just closed them, no longer squeezing them shut as she embraced death with both arms. "I want you to know I love you," she revealed.

He stilled, his pale stone lips pressing against her thrumming pulse gently. He pressed a little harder, kissing the clammy skin. "Good. There is something you should know before you die," he answered coldly, his lips moving against her thrumming pulse. It raced, but she kept her eyes lightly shut, death already beckoning her into its embrace.

Something sharp scraped against her skin, and before she could react, it sank through the thin membrane like it was not even there. Red hot fire seared her flesh, scalded her throat, spreading to her head and her limbs, her chest, her legs, before she could even think. It was like someone had set her on fire and was pouring more and more fuel onto it. It was like she had been dropped into the fiery depths of a mountain and left to burn into ashes.

Her eyes flew open; a sharp scream ripped from her lips. The sharpness that was imbedded in her flesh withdrew, and Caius sat back, red coating his lips as she choked on words. He merely stared, watching as she thrashed and screamed as the fire proceeded to scorch her flesh from her bones.

He then spoke, the blood coating his lips disappearing as he licked it off, his mouth curving at the sweet, sweet taste of her blood. "I lied," he drawled, her eyes squeezing shut as another scream ripped from her lips and pierced the night air.


	10. Chapter 10

**Unknown island off the coast of Greece, 1222BC**

Another dry sob ripped from her throat. This pain was unbearable. It was much worse than before. She was curled in on herself in the bed, and it was an unimaginable burning which had kept her awake for the last two nights. It didn't seem to be going away either. She had watched her skin change from a light pink to an almost creamy white. Her fingers were white. It was as though no blood ran through them no more. She had been able to move her legs again for only a short amount of time, and they too were curled in towards her chest as she screamed into her knees.

Caius came in once every half day. He came when it was light and when it was dark, but never twice in the same cycle. He had told her that Arcadius had awakened not long ago, and he was as bloodthirsty as had been predicted. He had all but decimated an entire village before he had been sated. It seemed he had taken his immortal life in stride, even the bloodlust, and yet he hadn't came to see her yet... She needed to know how to get through this. She didn't know if she could. The pain was horrific. She needed to know she was all intact and wasn't slowly burning up bottom to top.

Her eyes and teeth were clenched shut as she screamed, the sound akin to that of a snarling beast. She sounded like a wounded animal, her desperate sobs reaching on deaf ears. She could hear new things. She could hear the sound of the rolling ocean that was five hundred feet away from where she laid. She could also hear distant murmurings; Caius teaching her brother how to reign in his abilities. What abilities? Were you gifted special talents beside super strength and agility when you become an immortal?

She could also hear the woman -Athenodora- voicing her displeasure that they had two newborns to manage, and Caius's barely concealed angered response. Arcadius then voiced why he couldn't come and see her... She listened intently for the response, but it was so quietly murmured that she couldn't hear it, something she had no doubt was intentional. She let out another muffled scream as the heat centred in her chest, in her heart, burning it to a crisp.

It was when the night fell again that Caius came to see her. Her eyes pleaded with him to end the pain, but he didn't. She could hear her own pounding heart as it struggled against his venom as it seared through her veins. She knew he could too. He had been sat beside her an hour when its rhythm changed. It took off at a gallop, and a pleased smile crept across his lips. "Shan't be long now," he murmured, his finger tipping her chin back so he could gaze into her eyes. The blue was starting to turn a startling ruby red at the edges, just as Arcadius's had when he was near to completing his transformation.

If it was even possible, the fire burned hotter in the centre of her chest, wrapping and coiling itself around her already ailing heart. She shrieked, thrashing as she wept no tears, her body shaking as the red began to colour her eyes, the blue slowly vanishing from sight. Her lips lost their rosy hue, her cheeks too turning the palest white imaginable. Her honey blonde tresses lightened and curled over her shoulders as the venom repaired the years of damage to each strand. Her waist filled out after months of poor nutrition, her scars from her training with Arcadius healing before his eyes as he waited. If it was possible, she'd became even more beautiful, the venom healing all the small, individual flaws her figure had and magnifying them a thousand times better.

With a last defeated beat, the fire receded to her throat. She wrenched herself upwards, hands immediately going for her throat as she inhaled sharply, the fire like blades cutting the inside of her throat. She gasped, hands clenching her slender neck, cracks appearing under her slim fingers. He moved swiftly, his soft as silk skinned fingers gently placing themselves over her own. "Remove your hands before you pull your own head off," he ordered, a small smirk pulling at his pale lips in amusement. "You won't quell the thirst by holding your neck," he stated, amused.

Lysandra looked at him with wide eyes, her hand grabbing his as she marvelled in the feel of the soft skin against her own. "You don't feel cold anymore," she murmured, her voice sounding like an angel. He smirked, his hand moving to her neck. His thumb drifted over the bitemark on her neck. Her body thrummed with shivers as he moved his thumb over it, a strange reaction she didn't understand, but one he did, for his mouth curved into an even more darker, pleased smirk. He held a hand out as he stood. "Let us quell your thirst, Lysandra, and then we can begin exploring immortality together."

* * *

Arcadius stood beside a tree around a hundred feet from her as she exited the tent, and his mouth stretched into a wide grin as he saw her emerge from the red and gold drapes, Caius following close behind. Her eyes widened. "Cade," she whispered, rushing forward without knowing the limits of her own abilities. She crashed into him, her head burying in his chest. He tightened his arms around her, a crack appearing on the creamy skin of her arm before it healed. She nuzzled her head into his chest, breathing in his strange yet eerily familiar scent.

"Little sister, immortality becomes you, I believe," he stated warmly, rubbing his thumb gently over her cheekbone in a loving caress. She beamed up at him, her laughter like a tolling bell they had often heard from the villages and settlements in the distance. "Yes, I suppose it does," she mused, a gentle hand appearing on her lower back. Her bright red eyes glanced to her left, meeting equally red ones. Their owner grinned a malicious smile. "Shall we hunt? The prey was released half an hour ago. First lesson of immortality: Give into the hunt and your desires," he stated firmly.

Her brows furrowed a little as she frowned. "How do I do that?" She asked lightly and he smirked widely. "Inhale deeply. You can smell them running east of here. Inhale their scent deeply and allow the huntress inside you to take over." He murmured into her ear, her ruby red eyes meeting his shyly. She did as he said, inhaling deeply. The smell of the sea clouded her senses, the salty ocean air pleasing, but mixed with something more rich and meaty smelling. It awoke the beast inside her being.

The smell was wet and warm, and her eyes darkened as they snapped open, her body immediately rotating to face east. She could hear and _smell_ them all; seven humans running east, their fear mixed in with the delicious warm stench of their blood. The mere thought of such warmth trickling down her throat caused a snarl to be ripped between clenched teeth. A heartbeat later and she was gone.

It didn't take her long to find them; there was no hesitation. A woman let out a shrieking scream as she sank her teeth into her arm. A delicious warmth that no words could describe flooded over her tongue, a blissful moan sinking from her parted lips as she tossed the now dry woman to the earthy floor, leaping onto a frozen man who didn't make a sound as she sank her teeth into his exposed throat, her hand pressing down to hard, his head jolting as a sickening crack echoed through the air. Blood trickled down her chin from where she drank hastily, eager to experience more of this sensational tasting warmth.

All seven laid at her feet when she finished, her chest heaving with heavy, unnecessary breaths. Blood stained her silk blue dress that she had been wearing since she fell from the cliff. It all seemed so cloudy, her human life. It was as though someone had thrown thick sludge in her eyes, masking her memories from her. She remembered snippets, but not enough to piece her whole life together.

A cracking of tree branches alerted her to company and a dull thud sounded before the blonde haired man appeared in front of her. His eyes flamed as his eyes trailed down her blood soaked attire in appreciation. "You were made for immortality," he murmured as he came closer, her eyes falling slightly as he moved to stand in front of her, his hand grasping her chin, blood coating his hand. Her eyes flamed in return, her body losing control as he snarled at her, her head hitting the tree as he sped them over to it, the force of the motion causing a large cracking sound to occur from within the great tree.

It was hard for her to describe. It was like her body thrummed deep inside for his touch, for him to exert his control over her. He was her sire, her creator, _her master_. It was like her body was submissive to him, something that confused her immensely. Her eyes widened as his eyes darkened a little, flaring wide as he let his own beast take over. His darkening eyes drifted down to her mouth, coated with the blood of the seven that laid around her, and they flickered back up to her own bright red eyes before back to her lips. He moved forward, and she found herself moving forwards too, her eyes drifting shut.

A crunching of underbrush broke through the spell. A glimpse of blonde hair past his own made her innermost thoughts turn to an uncontrollable rage. Caius went stiff in front of her and he clenched his teeth. "I thought I told you to watch her brother, make sure he didn't do anything foolish in his newborn urges," he hissed through tightly clenched teeth. He took a step back, rage evident in his eyes.

What could only be described as a sickly sweet smile appeared on Athenodora's face. "Caius, my love, you know how unpredictable they can be. One minute they can mean everything to you, and then," her ruby red irises met Lysandra's over the males shoulder, "tossed aside like a used toy the next. We both know what it takes to be cut out for this life. If you cannot eat properly and waste half a meal wearing it, then you simply have no hope for the next century, let alone a millennia." She jested lightly, scoffing playfully.

Shame flooded through her as she glanced down at her attire. There wasn't a blue spot left on the front of her dress, the silk completely soaked with the crimson red of blood. Her eyes looked at her clasped hands over her stomach, they too stained with blood. As much as she despised the woman, she had a point. How would she do in this life if she couldn't even hunt properly? Arcadius had looked clean when she saw him, not a single drop of blood staining his body. How could she be immortal, and yet, fail so miserably at it?

"I will leave you both to talk," she murmured, moving past Caius despite the warning look in his piercing red eyes to remain by his side. She bowed her head. Athenodora gave a sickly sweet smile towards her. "That's a good girl. Arcadius is waiting for you beside the encampment. I suggest you head there quickly." She dismissed, something Lysandra did with a heavy heart.

Those doubtful feelings reared their ugly heads, snarling and jeering at her as she used her immortal speed to reach her brother. He grinned widely as he saw her, something which soon vanished as he noticed her sombre, sullen expression. He took a gentle hold of her arm as she made to pass him back into the tent she had undergone her transformation in. His expression was gentle. "Sister?" He murmured, but she shook her head, slipping back through the drapes and not returning out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Unknown island off the coast of Greece, 1222BC**

A month passed. Her hunting skills had gotten better, but it seemed, regardless of how good she did in embracing something, the blonde woman always had something to criticise her about. Whether it be from hunting messily, despite being only a month into this life, to being too humanlike, or portraying herself as weak, there was always something she was criticised about.

Arcadius was a natural at this life it would seem. He did everything perfectly. They were exact opposites in that respect. It only made her feel more like a failure at being an immortal. The constant gripes wore her down, her smile slowly disappearing from sight. Even Arcadius's normally amusing commentary on absolutely anything and everything didn't make her smile anymore.

Her eyes drifted around the red and gold drapes of her tent. It was her own safe haven. No one was allowed in here without her consent, something everyone seemed to be respecting, even Caius. His red eyes followed her around wherever she went. He still tried to get her on her own, whether to talk or something else, but Athenodora always made she was there, interrupting something before anything truly began. It was infuriating, more so to him than her, although she wasn't sure. He practically breathed flames whenever his time with her was cut short, but then he seemed calm and collected not even hours later. It confused her to no end.

She wrapped the silken red, black and gold spun sheets around her tighter. They felt smooth and alien against her skin, but it wasn't unpleasant. She exhaled softly. It was a strange feeling, being an immortal, and her experience of it hadn't been great so far. There was nothing but the maddening thirst and the criticism. How enjoyable could that be?

Crunching of sand alerted her to a visitor. Dark hair appeared at the edge of the drapes to her tent. Arcadius. She lifted her head from the feathered pillows drearily. "You can come in, big brother," she called quietly, and he wasted no time in entering. His eyes rested upon her still form and he sighed heavily. "Caius told me to tell you that we're leaving for a neighbouring island to hunt. He wants you to come."

Her golden tresses moved as she shook her head. "I am not thirsty," she murmured and his brows furrowed. "Your eyes are near enough black, little sister." He stated gently, taking a seat beside her. His hand gently rested upon her shoulder and he rubbed lightly. "Is there a reason you do not wish to go?" He asked.

She hummed. "I cannot hunt correctly. I am a failure at everything regarding immortal life. I do not hunt properly, I do not feed correctly, I make a mess each time I do so. I am hesitant in feeding, something I know angers them. I do not wish to be a nuisance towards them, so I shall simply remain here."

Arcadius shook his head. "You are less than a month and a half into this life. You will make mistakes. Ignore those who will point them out. I make mistakes. I was filthy the first time I fed. I merely changed before you saw me. Come now, Lysandra, let us all go and sate ourselves."

A sad smile overtook her face, and yet her answer remained the same. "No," she whispered, turning away and closing her eyes.

* * *

The washing up of the waves along the shoreline was her favourite noise. It soothed her, lulled her into a deep calm, but it did little to mask the approaching footsteps of the blonde woman as she pulled herself from the murky oceanic waters some hundred feet away. She moved swiftly up to Lysandra, a scowl painting her pale lips. "I want you to leave," she hissed, the sound like a snake as it readied to strike. "I want you gone from my island." She seethed through clenched teeth.

Lysandra looked up at her, her brows furrowing. "But what about Arcadius? Caius?" She uttered softly as she pulled herself to her feet nimbly. The blonde scowled in response to the last name. "His welfare is no concern of yours. I lost a chance to be mated because of you. He went to that forsaken island of yours to hunt and never returned. He was planning on _claiming_ me when he returned, sated in order to make it _last_ , something your imbecilic mind knows nothing about! You ruined everything by taking him in and healing him!" She snapped ferociously.

Bright eyes dropped a little, ashamed. Had she really come between them? She knew from discussions with the blonde haired man that he had in fact been considering it before she saved him. Had she truly ruined _absolutely everything_? It hurt her to think that she had.

Lysandra looked at her knotted fingers that were situated over her stomach. Her eyes glassed over with tears that would never fall. "I understand," she murmured, the vulnerable feeling making her uncomfortable and weak. "I will no longer entertain his advances. I will leave as soon as I have convinced Arcadius to do the same." She murmured, the sounds of the mentioned men pulling themselves from the ocean a mere hundred feet away reaching her ears. She swallowed before rounding on her heels and heading back towards her tent, ignoring the call of her name as she disappeared through the drapes.


	12. Chapter 12

**Unknown island off the coast of Greece, 1222BC**

Crimson eyes watched her every movement as she exited her sanctuary. Another set narrowed hatefully. She looked around before walking over to her brother, the giant of an immortal man flashing a grin towards her. "Lysandra," he greeted warmly.

A small smile tipped her lips as she sat down beside him. "May we talk? We need to discuss something urgently." She asked quietly and he nodded. "Is everything alright?" He asked quietly and she shook her head, glancing around to see if they were somewhat alone, or rather as alone as they could be. "Athenodora wants me to leave." She murmured lightly, a mere breath of air that no one but he could hear.

Arcadius frowned. "Leave? But you longed to be with him for years." He trailed off and Lysandra nodded. "Yes. I did. I still do. You have no idea how much I desire him, but she does too, and she was here before I. It would be improper and disrespectful."

He scoffed, turning fully to face her. "Do you even hear yourself? He chose _you_ , Lysandra. _You_ , not her. If he had wanted her even after you helped him, we wouldn't be here. We simply wouldn't, and now because of some petty feelings she has, you're going to abandon your own feelings? As simply as that? I don't believe you."

Darkness fell over them, someone's shadow blocking the sunlight. She turned and laid eyes upon the one man who was at the heart of the struggle at bay. He stared down at her, holding a hand out. "Would you like to hunt? It would be just us, no one else." He stated.

Arcadius spoke before she did. "Of course she would." He answered smoothly. He looked at his sire. "I wish to converse with you when you return," he stated and the blonde haired immortal nodded, a pleased tilt of his lips appearing when Lysandra gently placed her hand in his. "You have your wish," he acknowledged, his eyes remaining on Lysandra as she stood beside him. "We will return before dawn."

* * *

It was a surreal experience; waves crashed over her head, plunging her back into the black waters, everything amazingly clear to her new eyes. She could see every single creature that called the waters their home, every single droplet in the ocean. It was amazing. Her eyes widened in wonder as the coral seemed to dance with the current, everything seeming alive even if it wasn't.

Cool crisp night air wafted around her as she pulled herself from the waves that ferociously crashed behind them. Caius was already waiting on the beach of the nearby island, all traces of blood washed from his body. He watched as she came closer, her eyes wide with excitement. "That was amazing," she let out in a soft exhale and he smirked. "Everything is amazing as a vampire," he corrected and she nodded with a small smile. "It truly is."

Her eyes drifted around the deserted beach. It wasn't even an island, just a lone stretch of sand that was above sea level. She frowned gently. "What are we doing here? Shouldn't we be returning?" She asked lightly.

He hummed. "We should, but I want to talk before we return." He revealed, taking steps closer to her. She frowned. "What about?" She pressed and he hummed under his breath once more. "About you. You are acting most strangely, Lysandra. Every time I attempt to converse with you, you almost shy away from me. A stark contrast to the human girl who wasn't afraid of anything, and the young woman who embraced me without a second thought seven weeks ago, or the woman who on her deathbed said she loved me. What is plaguing you?" He clipped briskly.

If she had been human still, her heart would have been exploding in her chest. How did he know? Did he know what Athenodora had said? Was he about to shatter her heart into smithereens, unable to be fixed in eternity? She swallowed, looking at her hands. "You intimidate me," she whispered.

His answer was sharp and fast. "Good." He began to walk around her. "I want people to feel like that. I am dangerous. I could rip you limb from limb. I could have drained your body of its blood when I changed you. I could have left you to drown in those waters when you leapt from the cliff with your brother. I am a cruel, sadistic man who delights in the pain of others. I slaughter innocents without mercy." He snarled as he walked around her.

She looked at him as he stopped in front of her. "Why haven't you killed me then?" She asked quietly and he smirked. "I haven't killed you yet because I have plans for you, _Lysandra_ ," he whispered her name in her ear, making her shiver lightly. He trailed a finger around the bite mark on the column of her throat. "I will claim you as my mate, Lysandra. I will stake a claim, an ancient one that it predates even the Gods, over you and your body. You will become mine. That was why I changed you, Lysandra. Watching you become a woman only solidified that need to have you, and when that filthy beast tried to steal you from me, I wanted to rip his skin from his limbs and feed it to him while he screamed for mercy, something I would not give him nor the rest of his filthy kind." He hissed.

Lysandra shuddered; there was something so _animalistic_ in the way he spoke about her, and something so _intoxicating_ about how he spoke of the horrific acts he had committed. It appealed to the darkest part inside her, the part the feasted too on the blood of innocents. Her eyes drifted shut and then fluttered open. "But Athenodora," she whispered, eyes focussing on his now charcoal black eyes that were alight with power and a carnal hunger that made her stomach tighten. She swallowed back venom. "She wishes for you to make her as your mate, not I."

He scoffed. "I will do no such thing. Athenodora should learn her place. It is I who decides who I claim, not her, not even you. Women are submissive to a male vampire, and that is how it will remain. When I claim you, you will beg for release, and if you have pleased me, I will grant you it. You will remain loyal to me, you will do as I demand of you, and in turn, you will have all you could ever require. I will destroy cities for you, exterminate the beasts for you, treat you as an equal. I will defend and worship you, bestow pleasures that you could only dream of," he whispered, his mouth at her ear as he whispered all the sinful things he was going to do. She shuddered again, feeling his arm snake around her waist from behind and pull her back to his front.

She inhaled sharply as a hand clutched at her throat from the front, effectively pinning her against him. The tip of his nose drifted against her jawline as he hummed. "I will do this, all of this, Lysandra. I will claim you in the most forbidden act between man and woman, and no one will come between it, not even her." He whispered, his lips brushing against her earlobe. Her eyes widened. "B-But I haven't done anything like that before," she whispered, recalling the horror stories that she had heard as a child in the villages about how such an act was unbearable, especially for the woman. Men were cruel, she had heard, stealing the pain and pleasure of their partners for themselves, the women wailing as such horrific pain swept through their bodies as men laughed.

A snarl slipped from his lips. "Good," he hissed. "It hurts..." She whimpered and he scoffed. "Human men have no patience," he retorted. "They get too caught up in the act, limited by their own stamina and time. Vampires are the opposite, Lysandra. We have eternity, they have half a century. We have a thousand times that and more. I am not the most patient man, but I waited for you. I can allow myself moments to accommodate you." He murmured.

Lysandra shook in his grasp, a feeling of submissiveness washing over her as his hand tightened both around her waist and her throat. "I do not understand these strange feelings that overcome me when you are near," she whispered, confusion glazing over her features. He chuckled, the sound a cruel, sadistically mirthful tone. "It is your own inner beast sensing when to give in. You resist it because you do not understand it. You were made to be submissive to _me,_ Lysandra. Your body senses that. You are still a child into this life. When you age as an immortal, you will embrace it, and you will fall into step at my side, just like Arcadius's mate will when he claims her in the foreseeable future. Vulnerability is a weakness in our world, Lysandra. You are vulnerable. There are many others like me out there who would be less than kind to you. The Romanian Coven would seek to acquire you as a bedwarmer for their masters, a gift, one they would thoroughly use, I assure you."

Horror lanced through her. "Can they do that to someone who has been mated?" She asked quaveringly and he scoffed, the sound bitter. "They would try, but not without ensuing a challenge. They are an appalling coven, a mockery, a disgrace." He hissed.

She quivered and nodded. "I was going to leave." She revealed and his hand tightened in anger. " _You will not_!" He all but roared in her ear and she squeezed her eyes shut before she reopened them. "I was _going_ to," she repeated gently, placing a hand over the ones that covered her waist and throat. She leant her head back onto his shoulder. "I was told to reject your advances. I was told you would kill me. I do not know what to believe. You want me to remain, but she wants me to go... I am confused. You say you wish to claim me, but you haven't. You say you wish me to be yours, but you haven't told me before now. I do not know what to think," she confessed solemnly.

Caius was silent before he spoke, releasing her as he did so. "I will deal with Athenodora when we return. I will converse with Arcadius. He may be able to offer his assistance on such a matter." He drawled lightly, looking at the timid blonde in front of him. He smirked widely, the sight intimidating her somewhat. "And then, my dear Lysandra, nothing will come between us again."


	13. Chapter 13

**Unknown island off the coast of Greece, 1222BC**

Shouting and animalistic roars could be heard as she sat beside Arcadius, her brother looking less than pleased as he vibrated with anger, the occasional growl leaving his lips as he heard the insults that came from the blonde woman which were directed towards his sister. He glanced at her. She had been eerily silent since they returned, the blonde haired male practically breathing fire as he rushed over towards the older immortal woman.

Lysandra looked at the tiny creatures that were crawling through the sand absentmindedly. Anything to distract her from what was being said, or rather shouted horribly. _She's a whore_ , came floating into her bubble from the words that were screamed. _I was by your side first! I hunted alongside you for over three decades! I helped you escape from the Romanian's when they destroyed your territory in Northern Greece! I did everything, and then some little human comes in and replaces I, one of the oldest immortals in existence? I will not stand for it!_ Came the phrases that were hurtful to her heart.

Arcadius placed a hand on her shoulder. "I told you where his desires and wishes laid, little sister," he murmured, gently rubbing the bone in her shoulder with his thumb. Lysandra didn't respond, merely stared ahead at the ocean, the waves rolling up to greet them noiselessly. He sighed gently. "Lysandra, you've done nothing wrong. He chooses his own future, and he choose you. You have not done a thing." He soothed.

Only then did she respond. Her ruby red eyes met his slowly. "I know. It is her words that hurt." She answered quietly. "I never wished anyone any distress. I cannot help how my heart feels." She added and he nodded. "Exactly. You have nothing to feel ashamed of. You love him." He responded with a small smile and she nodded. "I do, yes." She agreed.

"Arcadius, that word you wished to have with me?" Came a distant call, and the giant of a man patted her shoulder before he got up and vanished in the same second. She could hear the distant screaming temper tantrum but further away, telling her that the blonde woman had stormed off in anger. She glanced back, seeing her brother walking into the large tent that belonged to Caius. The drapes fell shut behind them, and she turned her gaze back to the ocean, a soft sigh tumbling from her lips as she closed her eyes.

* * *

Fire bathed a warm glow around the drapes of red and gold, not that the light was needed to see one another. Arcadius crossed his arms over his muscular chest. "What are your intentions with my sister?" He asked lightly, and the blonde man gave a smirk. "I believe you already know the answer to that one, my friend. I know you heard my conversation with Athenodora and my warning to her that if she ever attempts anything again, I will detach her head from her body."

Arcadius gave an open-mouthed smirk. "I heard. What I want to know is, I suppose, if you will treat my sister appropriately and never betray her? Will you keep her safe, protect her?" He pressed and the blonde man chuckled a cruel chuckle. "Of course. She will never desire for a thing in this world of ours. She will be protected and guarded at all times. Her safety is guaranteed, I assure you."

The taller man gave a nod of his head. "Then I have no qualms with this. My only wishes were her happiness and safety. You swear to provide both, I will respect your wishes. Athenodora, on the other hand, could prove to be a problem." He commented dryly and the blonde man nodded, fingering a scroll on the wooden table that was in the front of his chambers. "I have already considered that. You are to keep her distracted while I approach Lysandra, and then you make yourself scarce. I highly doubt you wish to hear me as I claim your sister."

A look crossed the newborns face. "You would be correct. I will explore the outlying islands and hunt for three days with the utmost carefulness, making sure I cross no investigating creatures, immortal, beast or human. What would you wish me to do with Athenodora?" He asked.

The blonde man smirked cruelly. "Whatever it takes to keep her from me."

* * *

Caius stormed from his sanctuary. His crimson eyes landed on Lysandra immediately as she sat on a fallen tree that she had dragged beside the ocean to sit upon as she watched the waves. Athenodora was further up the beach, scowling as she observed both himself and the other woman who was engrossed in her own world that she didn't sense him approaching.

It was only when she took a seat beside him did she notice him. Her lips curved up slightly as she looked at him. "Did you and Arcadius converses well?" She asked softly. He withheld a groan as he looked at her moving lips, at their softness, something he had never felt, instead electing to nod his head once. "We did indeed. Would you walk with me? We need to converse ourselves." He asked.

She nodded, a small smile on her face as she stood up, gently sliding her hand through the arm he extended. She glided nimbly over the sandy beach, following him into the small tropical forest that covered the middle of the island. He stopped only when they were no longer within sight of the beach.

A small noise of surprise came from her lips as he pressed her against one of the grand old trees in front of them, her eyes wide as he turned her around to face him. "Caius," she murmured, her eyes focussed solely on his. He merely raised a brow, waiting for her to continue. She didn't, so he spoke. "Your brother has given me his approval."

Her lips parted slightly and she glanced around. "Oh," she breathed, looking back at him. "Is that why you brought me out here?" She asked timidly and he smirked. _As if he would claim her in a forest on a dirt floor_... He tittered. "Absolutely not. I will not do such an act for the first time in a hovel." He answered brutishly, his mouth turning down before he looked at her squarely. "I brought you out here to ask what you ask of me in return." He answered smoothly.

He watched as her brows furrowed in that delicate way they did. "What I want from you?" She repeated and he nodded, clasping his hands in front of him. "You may have anything your heart desires." He explained and she blinked once before she looked at him, taking a step forward.

" _Please_ ", came a desperate call from behind them. Anger roared inside of him and he spun around, his cloak moving at an unnatural speed behind him too. The beast inside of him urged him to tear the blonde woman apart limb from limb, but a gentle hand on his shoulder soothed him. "Don't, Caius," came the breathed words in his ear. It pleaded with him, with the side that had not an ounce of mercy in any cell of his body. He shrugged her off and glared ahead. "Go and wait for me in my chambers." He ordered harshly, the hand slipping from his shoulder almost immediately, a rush of air telling him that he was now alone with the woman who was causing him much grief. Where was Arcadius? Why wasn't he watching the wench?

"Leave," he spat at her, anger flooding her own features. "Out of respect for times past, I will allow you to leave alive and intact. Hesitate and I will tear you limb from limb and dance on your ashes with no remorse," he snapped.

Rage swirled in her crimson eyes. "I will go and gather your enemies and I will bring them here to slaughter you and your little creations!" She hissed and he laughed, a smirk twisting his features. "Go as you no doubt will, but you will not be here in time to stop the mating, Athenodora. I will make her mine within the nightfall, she will bear another mark of mine, but this one having more meaning. I will take pride as she writhes beneath me in knowing how it will anger you from a great distance away. You have lost, and I have won. Go, and never return, or I will follow through on my promise." He snarled, striding away and towards the only thing that mattered - _Lysandra_.

* * *

 **Authors note: Warning in place for next chapter. It will be pure and undeniably smut. If you don't like it, don't read it and then complain. It is an M-rated fiction for a reason, and I don't like whiners who have been warned beforehand and then complain -_-**


	14. Chapter 14

**Unknown island off the coast of Greece, 1222BC**

His chambers weren't what she had imagined them to be. Thick, rich red and gold drapes hung down from the canopy, a wooden handcrafted rack of ancient looking scrolls stood in the far corner of the first room. She didn't go through the curtains that were pulled back, the room through them his most private where she could see his garments of vibrant golds, red and blacks. His sanctuary described him perfectly.

She gently wrapped her fingers around one of the support poles, keeping a hold while she looked down at the tables which held scrolls and scholarly scripts, all written in either Greek or Latin. She drifted the fingers of her free hand over them, reading the words aloud in her mind to herself. They foretold tales of experiments, of how one man had experimented on the human physiology. He had discovered great things, but not without the cost of his experiments dying, the toll proving too great on their fragile bodies.

Her eyes drifted around as she pulled her own cloak tighter around herself. It was the one he had given her eight years ago, and it never left her person. The scent on it was distinctly human -her scent- but there was an underlying one that she wouldn't have been able to detect as a human. It was a rich, musky scent that made her stomach coil in delight. It smelt like power and ruin all in the same scent, and it smelt like forbidden emotions and sin all rolled into one. It was undeniably his scent.

She had heard Arcadius leave not long ago, Athenodora too. He hadn't killed her, something that calmed her a little, but still set her on edge. She was still out there, seeking vengeance. She had no doubt she would return to claim it either. It worried her. How long before she returned and all of her happiness shattered before her like glass?

A slight breeze was wafting in through the entrance curtains, those ones closed, concealing her from the outside view of whomever was there. Her mind wandered to other things, more forbidden acts. How would he claim her? Would he be gentle? Would he be kind? He had said he would accommodate her inexperience, but for how long before, he also, like men, because impatient and chased his own pleasure?

Sex frightened her. Her older sister had told her such horrible stories, as had her friends and the older girls in the village. _Lay still and let him have his way with you and you_ might _survive the night_ , a woman had cackled at a public union to a younger girl. Others had soon joined in. _Get on your hands and knees and let him mount you like a bitch in heat_ , one had jeered to rambunctious laughter from the others. _Men are savage in darkness,_ another had wisely spoken. _If he says you spread your legs, you ask how far. If he asks for your mouth, you give it. If he asks for a fuck that would not bring about a child, you roll over and let his cock punish you, for it knows what you desire_... Those words had terrified her as a child.

How much would he be like the men of her village as the women described?

The drapes shifted as he entered, her eyes immediately raising to meet his. He held some of her garments over his arm, his ruby eyes not leaving hers as he placed them on the chair in front of her. She looked at them. They were her longest dresses, all with red and black mixed with gold thread on them. He stared at her for a long moment before he spoke. "Are you frightened of me?"

Her lips parted as she softly exhaled. "No," she answered quietly, "just intimidated a little." She added.

He nodded as he moved around the table, coming to stand before her. She tilted her head to look at him for he was over half a foot taller than she was. His fingers ghosted over her jawline. "Are you scared of what is to come?" He asked and she nodded. "Yes." She whispered without hesitation.

His answer was harsh. "Do not be." He commanded, demanded of her. She swallowed. "How can I not be when I have heard such tales of what this act entails?" She asked timidly and his eyes blazed. "Forget what you know -it shouldn't be hard. You clung to certain memories as you turned. Relinquish your hold on those which have no significance, no importance, and they were become faint over time. Hold onto them, and you will allow them to control your actions for the rest of your immortal life." He stated coolly. "What do humans know of pleasure? They experience it for a moment and think they know everything. They know nothing. Fornication is nothing to be ashamed of; it is an act as old as the Gods. You will not be ashamed of such an act ever again. I am not. You will soon experience such things that have no basis on what you were told as a human. Pleasure and pain cross a fine line, something I will show you over our coming centuries together. I will make you my wife, my mate, and together, you will see and experience such things that mortals could only dream of seeing and doing."

Her eyes glazed over as she nodded, his hand dropping from her jaw as she did so. He walked away and through the curtain that were pulled back, disappearing from view. She stared for a moment before realisation dawned on her. _He was waiting for her to choose_ , she discovered. He was giving her the choice.

One foot moved after another, and then another, and she found herself stepping through the curtained doorway. They brushed against her back as he released the rope which kept them open, both falling shut behind her. He was stood on the other side of the room, the luxurious woven rugs soft beneath her pale feet. He dropped the rope, it swaying from where it was suspended on the support beams. His eyes pierced her own.

She found herself frozen in his stare as he walked leisurely across the space, shrugging his cloak off as he went, tossing it over one of the support beams above him. She quivered as she felt the power and hunger in his approach. It was intoxicating. Her feet began to move again, and she found herself before him, their eyes locked still as he reached behind her, undoing the clasp of her own cloak, carefully peeling it from her quivering body. It too joined his on the beam above them.

His hands brushed down her bare arms as he guided her backwards, one hand cupping the back of her neck as he pushed his lips against her own. It was as though mountains were erupting within every cell of her body. Soft as silk lips glided over her own, warm in their touch, caressing her in a way only a lover would. They moved with experience, with skill, while her own moved sloppily, unable to draw on past experiences to match his in this heat fuelled moment. His thumb brushed her upper arm, lighting her nerve endings on fire with the simplest feather like caress.

Gentle tugging at her dress strings caused her to pull back, his mouth simply moving to her neck, to the spot where his mouth had already been once before. A sharp gasp slipped from her lips as his venomous teeth scraped against the only mark on her body. It made her insides quiver with delight, her eyes falling shut as a strange noise vibrated from her parted lips. His hands continued to undo her dress ties -three of them. He pulled the first one loose, and then the second.

His hands fell to her waist after the third, the dress still clinging to her figure with the clasps that were down her back. Her eyes drifted open, fingers melding into his silvery gold tendrils, a gentle moan leaving her lips as a hand brushed against the underside of her breast, the little glancing touch setting her skin on fire under the pale blue silk of her garment.

Lips left her skin, only to reappear as he turned her in a movement too fast for mortal eyes, fingers seeking the golden clasps on her dress. He popped them open one by one -all ten of them- taking great care not to break a single one. The silk fluttered forward with nothing keeping it in place. It fell to her waist, her shapely breasts covered with a band of white cloth, folded over to make it thicker. It ran across her cleavage, her nipples already straining against the chafing linen, not that it bothered or irritated her. A hand circled her throat from behind, wetness trailing around the shell of her ear as the dress fluttered to the ground, revealing the strips of cloth that were tied around her intimate area, obscuring it from view.

Lysandra couldn't believe it. This was different than how it had been described. He wasn't throwing her onto the plush bed in front of them, lined with embraided silk and cotton sheets; He was taking his time. His hand drifted across her stomach, pressing lightly, while his other hand cupped her cheek and turned her face towards his, his mouth capturing hers in a sensational kiss that made a growl slip from his lips.

His hand drifted upwards and cupped her breast through the linen. Lysandra broke the kiss to let her head fall back onto his shoulder, her lips parting in a soft exhale as she sighed, her face turning into his neck, seeking comfort where she knew she would find it. His hands left her skin and moved for the tie on the linen concealing her breasts. It fell undone with a simple twist of his hands, dropping to the rug beneath their feet, kicked away, forgotten until later. His hands grasped her breasts, fingers gently circling her nipples, her face twisting as she shuddered in his grasp. His fingers gently pulled at them, the buds stiffening in his soft skinned fingers, a light groan tumbling from her lips as her abdomen coiled inside.

"Caius," she breathed sultry, her eyes still shut. He gave a slight smug tilt of his lips at hearing his name fall from her in such a way, his fingers squeezing the peaks in his fingers tighter. She gave a startled noise, the pressure causing a slight crack along the darkened skin to appear. He hummed, trailing his nose down her temple before his mouth reach her ear, lightly pulling at the lobe with his teeth. "There is a fine line between pleasure and pain, _my love_ ," he murmured, resuming his gentle pulling, the crack healing on her skin with venom. Her eyes fluttered open, looking at him from the corner of her almond shaped eyes. "I have waited for this moment, and I will _not_ be rushed." He warned, his fingers trailing around the dark circle atop her breasts. She quivered, a hand coming up to thread through the golden locks once more as he pressed his lips against the spot behind her ear that made her knees feel weak.

Fingers left her breasts and trailed down. They toyed with the edge of the linen which concealed the area that no-one had even been in. His lips curled up mirthfully. "If I were to slip my hand inside here, what would I feel your arousal?" He murmured lightly into her ear. Her eyes drifted open slightly. He would. She could feel the strange slickness covering her most sensitive skin and her inner thighs. She could smell a strange, salty sweet scent coming from there, and she knew he did too. The tips of his fingers drifted inside, and she hummed, twisting and pushing her face into the crook of his neck. "I do not know." She murmured, her lips brushing his skin. "Why do you not find out?"

He smirked widely, his hand disappearing beneath the cloth. They slid through the small mass of light coloured curls before they reached where they wanted to be. A sharp gasp left her lips as her eyes flew open, his fingers probing at the source of the wetness. A sharp cry left her lips as he circled her entrance, his other arm holding her to him tightly, regardless of how much she twisted and bent over in his grasp, her body unable to handle the enhanced feel of his fingers as they probed her entrance.

A sharp pant left her lips as her chest heaved. "I can't," she gasped out, the feeling what would have normally been small magnified a hundred thousand times over with her new senses. He chuckled cruelly behind her. "You can, and you will," he taunted before a single digit pressed inside her, caressing her fluttering walls inside. His thumb rubbed at her clitoris, the nub swelling beneath the circular motions.

It was all too much; not a moment later and the quivering reached its peak. She wept in his arms, her mouth falling open as she let her head fall back, her honey blonde hair still in its complicated style. A few strands fell in front of her eyes as she squeezed them shut. Wetness coated his hand, something he revelled in as he pulled it away, the scraps of cloth which covered her being used to clean it.

One moment she was upright, the next she felt the silken sheets beneath her. Red eyes flashed open, watching as he moved after her on the bed. A hand pushed her flat as her head hit the downy soft pillows, his hands gently removing the scraps of linen from around her waist, soaked with her arousal. They too fell to the floor.

Lysandra laid there, chest heaving with unnecessary breaths as she watched him. His eyes were sweeping down her bare form, the red orbs silently caressing each crease and curve of her figure. They snapped back to her. "Are you ready?" He asked lightly, her head slightly inclining in response. He gave a slight smirk, his hands reaching back for the tie to his own garment. She moved first, hands reaching out to assist. "Allow me," she whispered.

His eyes darkened somewhat as he watched her move forward, her hands gently sliding around the back of his neck to release the golden clasp which held his attire together. She unclasped it carefully, attempting to reign in her newborn strength, something she did successfully. The red chiton was discarded somewhere off the bed, his black tunic shirt next being pulled off by her surprisingly still hands. She dropped it to the side, his hands finding her face as he clutched either side, his lips pressing insistently against her own, something she returned as he lowered her backwards.

Her head pressed into the pillows once more, and he released her lips. His finger caressed the column of her throat, the side he hadn't marked. "I will mark you here upon the verge of completion," he explained, his voice firm and unwavering. His other hand found hers, guiding it up to his own throat. "You will repeat the action later, not now. Your marking of myself must be separate. I will be kind, _once_ , and minimise the pain you may feel from this, but others I will not as they will not hurt. Do you understand?" He demanded harshly.

Lysandra nodded with wide eyes, his loincloth being discarded easily as he slid between her thighs. He gave a low smirk, taking hold of her thighs and spreading them wide, letting them fall open as he released them, his hand probing at her entrance once more. Satisfied with what he found, his hand withdrew, moving to his engorged length. Her eyes widened a little. "That will not fit," she voiced worriedly, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth nervously before releasing it.

He laughed, guiding the mushroomed head to her small entrance. "Of course it will, Lysandra." He jested, a hand clutching her chin. He held her gaze before directing it down to where they were soon to be joined. "Watch," he ordered.

She couldn't believe her eyes; slowly, he pushed his cock inside her, her eyes widening at the sensation. It felt like someone was stretching the inside of her body. A sharp stinging feeling became gradually worse as his invasion of her innermost parts became deeper. Her face twisted. It wasn't unpleasant on a scale of how transforming had been- absolutely not- but it wasn't entirely painless either. Her fingers spasmed as they clutched his arms, her nails digging into the skin and breaking it, the sweet smell of venom wafting across to her as she gave a quiet groan.

His feeling was another entirely. It was as though someone was squeezing his length, like someone had a vice around it. He pushed in a little more, her hips flinching towards him. A smug smirk curved at his lips, a hiss leaving it as she broke his skin. She shuddered, her walls already starting to pulse around his length, or what was inside of her anyways.

Lysandra grimaced, her eyes flashing open to stare at him, his face smug over a mask of concentration. "How much more is there to enter me?" She whimpered out. His eyes flashed to her, a smirk twisting his features. "I am not even halfway in, Lysandra." He commented airily and her eyes bulged. Her head dropped back down. "I do not think anymore will fit into me." She confessed timidly and he chuckled. "It will, but I am being gentle per your request. I can always not be if you wish to experience the pain quickly and have it over sooner?"

Her fingers tightened their grip on his arm in response and his sadistic grin widened, already knowing her answer. "As you wish, my love," he hissed, pulling back ever so slightly.

She almost sighed in relief when he pulled back, but the relief was short lived. He pushed forward harshly, invading her walls, searing pain ripping through her innermost parts in response. A short scream slipped between gritted teeth as he did so, her eyes squeezing shut. It was highly uncomfortable. He was seated fully within her too, her injured walls pulsing around her, begging for her to make the foreign object inside her withdraw. She could feel the rounded swell of his engorged testicles pressed against the soft swell of her bottom, her chest heaving as she pushed past the pain.

Caius was practically thrumming with triumph; she could both feel and sense it. Pleasurable growls slipped between his teeth as he closed his own eyes in his personal pleasure, reopening them to gaze down at her trembling form. "I told you there is a fine line," he reminded, pulling his hips back to push forward once more. A shocked groan shook her lips as she cried out, the pain slowly ebbing as he repeated the motion.

After the fifth surge, there was no pain despite a slight twinge every time he moved into her again. He was smirking widely, her eyes still wide as she held onto his arms for dear life. The bed creaked around them, his hand grabbing her leg in response to a sudden moan that escaped her mouth. He pulled it up around his waist, her body slipping under his even more as he slid into her deeper than she thought was possible. She could feel him in her stomach, it felt so strange. He hit a spot so deep she convulsed and shuddered wildly, his cruel smile widening even more.

There was no stopping the thrusts now. She didn't want to. Her hands clung to his shoulders as his face buried itself in her throat, snarling as his hips smacked into hers, being gentle now gone well out of reach. A heavy moan slipped through her lips. She could feel everything; it was almost too much. Her legs shook as they were splayed either side of him, one pulled up onto his waist. One hand of hers wound itself in his hair, holding him to her neck. He didn't seem to mind, his lips messing with her sanity as his lips and tongue painted patterns on the smooth white skin.

It began as a strange coiling sensation in her lower abdomen, similar to what she had experienced earlier, but even more powerful than the first. Her walls fluttered around his length, and he felt it too, a sharp chuckle coming from his lips. "I didn't expect you to release so soon, Lysandra," he purred her name in her ear making her shiver. He laughed once more, pulling back to look into her eyes. "It will be so much fun training you to withhold those releases of yours."

She didn't understand what he meant, but she did the pleasure that swept through her bones. A scream slipped from between her teeth and she wailed out her pleasure, her release coating him in a sticky wetness as he continued to invade her body throughout. A snarl sliced through the air as she shook violently.

Teeth pierced her skin, sinking deep into her throat. The stinging of the venom as it was injected into her immortal body made a surprised squeal slip from her lips. He snarled even louder than her exclamation of surprise, drowning it out, his hips pounding into hers, his movements a blur. Another shriek slipped from her mouth, the feelings coursing through each of her two-hundred and six bones enough to lay waste to entire cities. She yowled, sobs slipping from her lips as she was unable to regain control of her feelings. Another burst of wetness coated him.

He was growling and snarling above her, his own limbs giving a violent shake as he joined her in release. She could feel him inside her, swelling and spurting out his own release. It painted her innermost walls in a cool, cold wetness that made her shudder as she felt it drip inside of her own body. His cock remained hard, a reminder to her about the lack of stamina that human men had which he certainly did not possess.

She was still as he finished, a heaviness covering her bones. She felt different, like she was a proper woman, her throat stinging as the venom seared around her fresh mark, one that held a more significant meaning that the one that matched it on the opposite side of her neck. He trailed his nose around it, inhaling sharply as he did so.

He too was silent as he pulled back, staring down at her dazed expression for a minute or two before he smoothed his hand over her hair, pushing back the pieces that had escaped. His lips came down upon hers lightly, the tip of his tongue touching hers, his hand gently caressing her face as he rose back up. She gave a bashful smile, her own hand coming up as she sat up a little, pushing her own lips against his. His hand cupped her face, his other one cupping her waist, the thumb of that hand gently stroking her ivory skin.

She moved back, her eyes searching his as their faces remained pressed together. "You promise to always keep me safe and love me?" She whispered, briefly closing her eyes as he caressed her face before she reopened them. His eyes met hers with a blazing intensity that she couldn't doubt his response. "I swear on it before the Gods of old," he answered strongly.

A small, tender smile took hold of her lips as she pressed them against his softly. "And I promise to always remain loyal and love you with every bone in my body for all of eternity," she whispered back, a gentle hand caressing his face in return. "I too swear it before the Gods of old," she added, her voice full of sincerity as she gazed up at him.

A groan left his lips as he brought her onto her side, falling down onto the bed beside her, his hand reaching for the pins that kept her hair up, pulling them out as he pushed his lips against hers. She answered him with a surprising ferocity for someone who had just engaged in such an act for the first time. The sounds of dawn reached them both and she glanced to where the slightest rays of the awakening sun began to reach them. It crept through a shift in the red and gold drapes, turning her skin into diamonds how she so loved. She gave a soft titter under her breath. "I did not realise dawn was upon us so soon," she confessed and he smirked, threading through the honey blonde curls that reached her waist.

His smirk widened. "Time is nothing to us, my love. A blink and an hour passes. A close of your eyes and half a day does." He stated and she gave a soft smile. "I didn't think I would have the life I do now when I found you," she stated softly and he chuckled, trailing his hand down her arm lightly, sending the nerve endings there on fire. "Nor did I, yet now we are bonded tighter than marriage. No one can separate us, not even the Gods of old." He declared.

Lysandra hummed. "Will we become man and wife over eternity?" She asked gently and he hummed too, moving a strand of hair from in front of her eyes to behind her ear. His fingers lingered there, lightly tugging on her earlobe. "We will, and then we will have a feast fit for royalty." He stated strongly.

Her smile widened as she placed a hand over her new mark. "How will I do yours?" She asked inquisitively and his mouth grew into the widest smirk she had seen him display. In a flash of motion he was on his back, her legs either side of his waist as she straddled his abdomen. He placed his hands on the pale expanse of her flat abdomen, pressing lightly as he guided her backwards to where his hard shaft was rigidly upright, awaiting her mounting of it. She frowned. "You want me... on top of you?" She questioned and his smirk widened, if that was even possible. "Yes, Lysandra. I took my pleasure, time for you to claim yours. Gather your courage, your confidence, your pride. Grow as a woman while I worship you from beneath. This is just the beginning. We are only half a day out of three into this coupling. I have much to teach you." He declared.

Her eyes widened as she slid down onto his shaft, her eyes widening even more as she found that he filled every inch of her quivering tunnel inside. He raised her up a little, giving a series of short, sharp quick thrusts that had her crying out and bucking her hips for more. He released her, settling her back down with a smug grin as her eyes flashed open. The pleasure ebbed away slowly, her hips beginning to rotate as she chased after it. He chuckled sadistically, his hand moving forward to rub at the swollen nub that was peeking out between her glistening folds. She made a noise and jolted forward as he mercilessly rubbed it in rough, circular motions.

A hand grasped her hip once more, lifted her, and then let her drop down. It wasn't unpleasant, the stretching feeling inside of her, but it wasn't necessarily pleasant either. She was stretched uncomfortably for someone who had just been deflowered and she knew he could see that. He dropped her down again, her breasts bouncing uncomfortably against her chest. His thumb kept rubbing, her walls squeezing him tighter and tighter as she chased her third release of their fornication. She shuddered as the head of his cock brushed against something inside of her, wetness coating his appendage as it emerged and disappeared inside her again.

He gave a loud growling groan beneath her, her eyes widening as she saw them begin to darken to a charcoal black. It was frightening, and when he spoke to her, it was through growls that slipped between his teeth. "Do it," he hissed up at her. Her brows furrowed until he pulled her forward, pushing her face into his throat as he coiled his arms around her waist, using his experience to hold her squirming body tight against his own as he planted his feet, using his immortal strength to deliver a punish pace, her mouth falling open as she screamed, the pleasure ten times more potent than it had been before. It felt like he was everywhere inside of her. A hand pushed her against his skin, her mind losing to the beast inside of her as she fell into the pleasurable abyss, her teeth sinking into the skin of his shoulder just above the bone.

He yowled beneath her, stiffening, his cock ceasing its punishing pace as it ejaculated inside of her, painting her walls with its semen. She trembled in his grasp. The sweet taste of venom washed over her tongue, her teeth slipping from his skin and he gave a few brutal last thrusts as the wetness stopped spurting inside of her, her cheek pressed against his pale skin as she tried desperately to regain control of her feelings.

He stilled after a while, his hand drifting up and down her back while they were still connected in a carnal way, her body shaking against his. She was silent too, her hand gripping his arm tightly as it to anchor herself to him. He smoothed back her honey blonde hair as he silently pushed his lips into her hairline. "Now, Lysandra," he murmured gently, her eyes drifting up to meet his as her body still trembled. He smirked cruelly. "No one can take you from me, _ever_."

* * *

 **Authors note: And there you have it. I won't lie and say this is a once off chapter, because it won't be. As always, hope you enjoyed as that took me a helluva long time to write!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Unknown island off the coast of Greece, 1222BC**

Arcadius returned after the third night. His face was grim. "Athenodora went to the wolves." He spat and Caius scoffed, his arm tightly wound around the immortal mans sister. She leant into his touch. "Athenodora is harmless. She cannot bring a force big enough against us. When she arrives here with them, if they haven't already torn her to shreds, we will be long gone, not even a trace of our scent remaining behind. It is time for us to leave." He commented airily.

Lysandra glanced up at him. "You said it was dangerous for us to travel as newborns," she breathed and he nodded, looking down at her. "It is, but if I did it all those years ago, _alone_ , the three of us can do it together. We just need to remain out of Romanian and Egyptian territory." He warned.

Her features smoothed and she looked at Arcadius. "Did you hunt well?" She asked gently and he chuckled. "Is that truly what you wish to know?" He asked and she gave a slight smile of her own. "I suppose not." She responded before looking at Caius with soft eyes. "When do we leave?" She breathed.

His face was cold as he looked down at her, placing a gentle hand on her face. "Immediately."

* * *

This newfound land was different that what she had seen prior. Rolling hills of forests greeted her eyes as she pulled herself from the water, the sun beaming down upon them. The two men had carried the precious items they brought with them above the water, mainly the scholarly scrolls she had saw all over Caius's chambers. They were priceless, something he had stressed just like she had about her items. Arcadius had brought his own items, those too carried above the water as they journeyed through the night to this new land.

"We are in unclaimed territory," the blonde immortal mused, power lining his features. "We will claim it as our own for the moment, remain here for some time to come, and then we shall move again until we find somewhere we wish to remain." He stated coolly.

Lysandra hummed her agreement as she came up beside him, his arm snaking around her. "I agree," she stated softly, Arcadius nodding in agreement. "I second that." He added. He hummed, looking at the two of them as they stood side by side. "I don't think we will have problems co-existing with others in this area, will we?" He asked.

Caius shook his head, although his lip curled downward at the thought of one particular coven. "Perhaps the Romanian coven, but they are a great distance from here." He stated and Lysandra frowned. "Who are they?" She asked lightly.

A spitting scoff ripped from his lips. "They are _scum_. They crush opposing territories and slaughter entire covens who refuse to bend to their regime. They reveal our kind to anyone and everyone. They have an entire world cowering at their feet. They are foolish and that will be their downfall." He hissed.

Arcadius nodded. "Is there anyone big enough to challenge them?" He asked and the blonde nodded. "The Egyptian Coven, but they believe themselves to be their own Gods of old, or rather the reincarnations of them. They get the Egyptian people to worship them, even the kings of that land. They are a coven of arrogant beings who believe regular vampires to be beneath them." He answered.

Lysandra gave a soft smile. "I am quite content to remain here," she revealed and a grin spread across both of their faces. "Good," her brother answered. "Because I don't plan on going anywhere for a long, long time."

* * *

 **-Just a filler. A bit of a time jump next chapter, but incoming are the characters whom everyone is able to guess ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Five hours outside of Thebes, 1180BC**

Soft breezes ruffled her honey blonde hair, despite it being twisted up in a complicated fashion. Lysandra gave a wide smile as she sat in front of the dancing flames that leapt in the wind, casting an amber glow around their home. Arcadius was seated on a rickety wooden chair that was pressed against the wooden logged wall, a blade in his hand as he carved carefully, his strength having been honed in over the thirty plus years he'd spent as an immortal.

A soft pressure was against her shoulder as Caius took a seat beside her, his red eyes burning into her own with the adoration and fondness he reserved solely for her eyes. A hand took her own, his thumb gently rubbing over her knuckles. Their creamy white skin glowed orange in the firelight, making it look alive instead of the dead, frozen cells they were made of.

He gave their joined hands a light squeeze. "How bares your thirst?" He asked and she gave a warm smile. "I can manage for a day or two," she answered gently and he chuckled, looking towards the taller and more muscular man who was allowing an amused smirk to grace his pale lips. He nudged the blonde woman beside him. "I do not believe Arcadius believes you, _Lysa,_ " he murmured, his familiar nickname for her that he'd taken to over their decades together.

Lysandra looked up at her brother, his red eyes flashing playfully up to her before returning back to his crafting. She made a noise under her breath. "He may disbelieve me all he wants." She announced haughtily, a smile pulling at her lips as she fought back a laugh. "It was not I that returned not a moon ago with half of my meal wasted down my attire."

A booming laugh came from the man in question and he looked up, his carving continuing despite not looking. He flashed pearly white teeth to his younger sister. "And it took you over a decade just to master the art of eating cleanly, like an _infant_ ," he mocked teasingly and she rolled her eyes, turning the ruby red orbs that were her eyes back towards the dancing amber flames.

Caius hummed, his hand giving her own a squeeze. "I will leave to hunt tomorrow morn in the nearby settlement. You are to come if you so wish to," he stated and she gave a small smile. "I will consider your offer," she teased and he gave a wry smirk, telling her she would regret her teasing later that night.

* * *

She heard them first before she saw them, bounding to her feet on the offensive instantly, her ruby eyes wide. Four heading towards them, and she was alone. She glanced around worriedly, getting ready to flee when she smelt Caius amongst them, her shoulders sagging a little.

He appeared not a minute later, with him three companions that didn't include Arcadius. A hiss spat through her teeth before she could contain it, panic spiking through her limbs, and a reassuring look from her lover soothed her worries. He came forward, hand outstretched towards her. "Tis alright, Lysandra, they mean us no harm." He stated calmly, taking her hand in his and leading her over to them.

She looked at the trio warily, her eyes drifting to his for support. He nodded, motioning towards them. "I came across them on my hunt, travelling nomads, just like us. This is Aro, his sister Didyme and her mate Marcus." They each gave a nod in turn and she gave them a welcoming smile, despite her nerves. "Hello," she murmured softly, Caius smirking at her shyly spoken words. He nodded once. "This is Lysandra, my own mate. We have another, her brother Arcadius. He is hunting currently."

The one who he'd said was Aro clapped his hands together excitedly. "Its a pleasure to meet you, Lysandra. Caius's thoughts of you do not disappoint to see you in person, or his words of you." He greeted warmly.

Her brows furrowed. "His _thoughts_ of me?" She echoed slowly and the woman -Didyme- gave a beaming smile. "Yes, my brother can read another beings thoughts through touch! A tad invasive, I agree," she mused warmly, moving forward and gently enveloping the blonde into a warm embrace. "Its so lovely to have come across another woman of our kind. While my brother and husband are wonderful, they cannot quite relate to me like another woman can."

Lysandra gave a shy smile, somehow put at ease with Didyme's warm smile and affectionate nature, almost as if it were infectious. The three males drifted away to converse amongst themselves, leaving her and Didyme to simply converse about everything and anything. They talked about where they had came from, about how old they were, how they found their respective mates; the last one seemed to intrigue her. "Do I understand you correctly that you found him as an immortal while you were not, wounded from the Children of the Moon, and you nursed him back to health?" She queried and the blonde nodded with a small smile. "I did indeed, much to my brothers disdain."

The dark haired woman gave a tittering laugh. "And now?"

Red eyes drifted to the blonde haired male who was deep in conversation with the two men. A small smile tweaked at her lips and she hummed softly. She looked back at Didyme. "And now, I wouldn't change even the simplest thing."


	17. Chapter 17

**Five hours outside of Thebes, 1175BC**

The trio had settled in well to their way of life over the five years; Lysandra knew something was wrong though. She could sense it, almost of though there were new plans in the works for something big. Arcadius was acting strange too, his eyes never fully meeting her own. Caius was acting as though he was biding his time for something too.

The rustling of the nearby wildlife as they settled in for the darkness that had arrived echoed around her. Everyone had departed for a hunt together, Arcadius going to show Aro, Marcus and Didyme one of his newfound hunting areas. That left the two of them alone, and even her quiet occupation with her charcoal drawings wasn't enough to hide his lingering gaze upon her milky white flesh.

His eyes met hers once more and she sighed, placing her drawing down in her lap, her brow arched towards him. "What on earth is bothering you?" She pleaded in a whisper, her mouth turned down. His eyes found hers once more, darkening slightly as he looked at her. "Nothing is bothering me," he commented slowly, standing up and making his way towards her slowly, making her feel like hunted prey as he cornered her in her crafted seat. "But I do have something to discuss with you that is of great importance."

Lysandra gave a wry smile as she placed her drawing on the ground and he knelt before her. "What is it?" She inquired sweetly, pressing her hand against the soft skin of his face.

She watched as he searched her eyes for a moment before he spoke simply. "Tomorrow we will be moving to a small town less than a day travel from here, called Volterra. We thought it fitting since we're going to adopt the name of the Volturi and provide some form of governing to this world of ours."

In an instant, Lysandra was on her feet. " _We?_ " She hissed. "This ' _we_ ' doesn't seem to include me, Caius." She scowled and he climbed to his feet from where he had knelt before her. "Lysa, myself, along with Aro, Marcus, and even Arcadius, have made this decision. Didyme was told but a day ago by Marcus and she agreed wholeheartedly."

Hurt flickered through her chest. "So why am I to be told last? Do I not hold meaning enough to you, at the very least, and my brother, to be told the same time as my coven sister?" She whispered, and he tilted his head. "I told them to hold off because _I_ wanted to be the one to tell you, not the others. Didyme and Marcus have gone ahead to secure our arrival, and then once we have all arrived, we will begin building our coven numbers, _our guard_ , to keep us safe. There will no doubt be others who will fight against our rule, against us, _against yourself and I_." He moved forward, a hand coming to cup her pale, flawless cheek. "Can you not see this was decided to keep you safe?" He breathed.

Lysandra looked away, hurt still, and he guided her face back to his, staring into her crimson red eyes before he captured her lips into a fierce kiss, her hand coming to rest over the one that held her face. Her lips pushed back against his, pouring her hurt, her anger, into their kiss. She shoved him back, taking him by surprise when she pushed her lips against his once more, fisting her hands into his long, golden blonde hair. "I only asked to be kept as your equal, loved, never cast aside," she murmured against his lips, giving him another shove. He accepted it, falling to the ground like she intended, gazing up at her with impossibly dark, sadistically gleaming red eyes. He grabbed her calves, pulling her down atop him, his hands questing under her light skirt.

She gave a heady scowl, her lips falling from their angry conformant into a heavy moan as his hands found that area of her which burned while damp. He gave a scowling smirk from beneath her, his eyes focussed on the smooth, pale column of her exposed throat, his mark from many years ago still embedded in the pristine, stone-like flesh.

"I have treated you as my equal," he snarled up at her. "Most of my kind would make you worship the ground they walked on, control when you feed, control your _pleasure_ ," as if to prove his point, he rubbed the place that called out for his touch, making a noise akin to a groan yet breathless, regardless of having no need for breathing, leave her parted lips. He rubbed again, her entire body shuddering atop his questing hand. "It is _I_ that worships the ground you walk on, Lysandra. I would die for you, _wife,_ you have no idea the depths of my devotion. I saved you from a fate worse than death, breathed new life into your soul where others would have crushed it and left you to die from your wounds, your fatal injuries."

He sat up suddenly, sheathing himself inside her with a quick manoeuvre so fast even she couldn't comprehend it; a fierce moan ripped from her lips at the sudden fullness, her lips pulling back over her razor sharp teeth in a heady snarl, one he mirrored before turning them over, pushing her back into the mossy earth, his own covered from where he had laid. He picked up her thighs, wrapping them tightly around his waist, withdrawing and pushing back in without breaking a stride. He hovered over her, eyes cruel and merciless to anyone else, hard and full of hot desire to her, a look she saw many a time over their years together.

His brutal, harsh, domineering thrusts into her wanting body continued for a while, too long a while. He left her wanting each time she almost reached her peak, a cruel smile adorning his face as he gazed down upon her. This was her atonement, her way of being punished for questioning his devotion to her -she knew it.

However, near her fourth time of completion, a hand came down, caressing her cheek, her face, a soft thumb rubbing lightly over her plump lip. She gazed up at him, tilting her face into his hand, a rare source of comfort to her these days, a time when she could feel war was brewing around the world, _around their world_.

"I love you," she whispered, those words privy to only him and always him. The look in those dark eyes she loved so much softened, just a bit, and his thumb stroked her lips and then her jawline, as if memorising her every detail. "And I you," he murmured, the words he would never say in the company of anyone, _their little secret_.

They reached completion soon after, their unionised cries of pleasure, of carnal passion, Lysa remaining silent afterwards. He looked at her, his eyes searching hers before he traced her jawline delicately, as if his touch could damage what sheer perfection he saw before him. She looked at him through guarded eyes and he gave a slight tilt of his pale lips. "We won't move anymore after this, my love, I promise."

She gave a weak smile, closing her eyes as she leant into his touch. "Good, because I do not think my heart could take another uprooting, my _saviour_."

* * *

 ** **Hi everyone! Long wait, very long, I know. Life has been hectic, but know I have a routine, I'll, hopefully, start completing the fictions I have written so far.****

 ** **Also, would appreciate it if everyone could go read my new fiction I've released! Any tips or pointers, a quick comment, and a follow, would be very well received! Thank you everyone for your patience, I know it's been a long while.****

Dark Jedi ||Kylo Ren||


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